Foundation names 2 to board of trustees

April 20, 2007

The ASU Foundation (ASUF), a separate nonprofit organization that supports ASU, recently appointed John Graham and John Solheim, two Valley chief executive officers, to its board of trustees.<separator></separator>Graham, CEO of Sunbelt Holdings, was appointed to the ASUF board of directors and board of trustees. Graham joined Sunbelt Holdings in 1982 and became president of the real estate development company in 1990. Under Graham's leadership, Sunbelt has developed several award-winning, master-planned Valley communities, including Johnson Ranch, Power Ranch and Vistancia.<separator></separator>Graham graduated from Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix in 1975 and earned his economics degree from Stanford University . His commitment to the community is evident by his many affiliations with ASU and other Valley organizations, including the ASU Council for Design Excellence, the ASU Council of 100, the Brophy College Preparatory board of trustees and board of regents, the Desert Botanical Garden and Herberger Theater. He also serves as chairman of the board for the Nature Conservancy.<separator></separator>Joining Graham on the ASUF board of trustees is Solheim, CEO of Karsten Manufacturing Corp. and PING Golf. Solheim was 14 years old when he began helping his father build the revolutionary putters that made the company – started in 1959 by his father, Karsten Solheim – famous throughout the golf industry. The Karsten Golf Course at ASU is named after Karsten Solheim in honor of a $2 million gift his firm gave to the university in 1988.<separator></separator>Solheim earned his bachelor's degree from ASU. He is involved with several Valley organizations, including Solheim Cup, the Solheim Family Foundation, Arizona School Choice and the Phoenix Symphony.<separator></separator>“We're very pleased to have these talented gentlemen with such strong philanthropic ties to the Valley on our board,” says Craig Weatherup, chairman of the board of directors and board of trustees for the ASU Foundation. “Their leadership and generosity will no doubt have a profound impact on the foundation's mission to advance ASU as a New American University .”