Crow, Morrison celebrate Thunderbird partnership

January 29, 2015

Arizona State University and the Thunderbird School of Global Management celebrated their new alliance Jan. 29 at a reception on the Glendale, Arizona, campus of Thunderbird.

ASU President Michael M. Crow and Allen J. Morrison, chief executive officer and director general of the Thunderbird School, spoke about how each school would enhance the other. two men shaking hands Download Full Image

“Thunderbird’s partnership with ASU comes at just the right time in our growth and in our history,” said Morrison. “In addition to benefiting from ASU’s knowledge network, we move forward at Thunderbird unburdened by debt and with a license to grow, to spread our wings, to prosper.”

The reception marked the formal kickoff of the partnership between ASU and the Thunderbird School that was finalized in December 2014. The partnership aims to combine the strength of an international business-education powerhouse with the resources of an innovative public research university.

“What you can expect from us is to get at this right away, to stabilize those things that need to be stabilized immediately and, upon stabilization, to begin strategic positioning of this institution in its partnership with ASU, and strategic positioning of ASU in its partnership with Thunderbird,” said Crow.

Crow congratulated Thunderbird for its successes and promised to be a part of building an even more impactful future for the school.

“We are committed to the Thunderbird idea, the Thunderbird mystique, the Thunderbird model, the way for Thunderbird to move forward,” he said.

Ambassador Barbara Barrett, who at one time served as president of the Thunderbird School, called the partnership “a history-making combination,” comparing it to such historically successful pairings as Watson and Crick, who discovered the double helix structure of DNA; Gilbert and Sullivan, famous theatrical partners; and Lewis and Clark, who made history when together they mapped and explored the newly acquired western portion of the United States in 1804.

“Combinations, teams, collaborations have supercharged performance for eons. This combination bodes well for the future of ASU and for Thunderbird,” said Barrett. “The ASU-Thunderbird combination gives Thunderbirds the benefit of a remarkable leader in Michael Crow. With the size and strength of ASU on Thunderbird’s side, Thunderbird will become an even finer institution, building upon its incomparable legacy.”

In his speech, Morrison pointed to new technologies, degree programs, international expansion, company partnerships, broadening of the faculty and networking more meaningfully with alums as ways that the Thunderbird School will benefit from this partnership.

“This new beginning with ASU signals the start of an era of unparalleled growth and unparalleled opportunity for Thunderbird,” he said.

Morrison previously served as a senior adviser for global management education and executive education initiatives at ASU. His research has been published in a range of journals, including Harvard Business Review, Strategic Management Journal, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Management and the Journal of International Business Studies.

President of the Thunderbird School of Government and MBA student Sabah Hussain has been taking programming classes at ASU for the past three years. She expressed excitement at the two schools’ collaboration.

“The resources that we’re going to get at ASU are only going to bolster our opportunities,” Hussain said.

Lisa Robbins

Assistant Director, Media Relations and Strategic Communications

480-965-9370 lisarobbins@asu.edu

Distinguished career award given to ASU history professor

January 30, 2015

Editor's note: Jannelle Warren-Findley died in Phoenix on Feb. 4, at age 69, after the publication of this article.

Retired professor of ASU's School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Jann Warren-Findley, will be awarded the Robert Kelley Award from the National Council on Public History. portrait of professor Jann Warren-Findley Download Full Image

Warren-Findley was an associate professor in history for more than 20 years. She led ASU's public history program as director for two years and as co-director alongside Noel Stowe. She retired last year.

The nomination to this award highlights her commitment to her students and the field. It states, “One of the major characteristics of Warren-Findley’s mentoring is the way she has nurtured her students to become professionals, to not just learn theory but engage in practice, moving beyond the campus.”

Warren-Findley has been hailed as an advocate for the globalization of public history. A Fulbright Scholar, she taught in Sweden, England, New Zealand and China. She is recognized by her colleagues as playing a valuable role in establishing important links between public historians in the United States and abroad.

Warren-Findley has served extensively in the National Council on Public History, the American Historical Association, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, she was a founding member of the International Federation for Public History and has been a board member of the Australian journal Public History Review.

“Over many years of dedicated and compassionate service, Jann made a major contribution to building the reputation of Arizona State University’s public history program. We’re proud of her accomplishments and delighted at this recognition of her work,” says Mark Tebeau, director of public history at ASU. “Her efforts to internationalize the field have been particularly important and will have an impact for many years to come.”

The award will be presented at the National Council on Public History's 2015 Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 18.

The School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies is an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University.