ASU Foundation for a New American University

What do you care about? Our team cares about helping you make an impact. Meet some of our fundraisers. In the video below, you’ll hear their perspectives on the relationships they form with donors. Featuring Alma Chavez Strasser, Devin Dye, Elizabeth Muncal, Eric Espeland, Julie Werner, Ruben Olmedo, Xiaohang Jiao MPA, MA #WorkCulture #SunDevil #GiveBack

Gregory Melikian, U.S. Army veteran, community leader and longtime benefactor of Arizona State University, passed away peacefully on July 14. Melikian was a patron of the arts and education, supporting organizations including the The Phoenix Symphony and the Arizona Opera Company. ASU held a special place for the Melikian family; all four of Gregory and Emma’s children attended ASU. In 2001, the Melikians established the Melikian Fund to support language learning, and in 2006, they endowed Arizona State University - The Melikian Center. Read more about his enduring legacy at https://ow.ly/hStQ50SLaqg

Is ASU Link secure? Short answer: Yes! Long answer: Donor privacy and security are of paramount importance to us at ASU Foundation. We have a team of dedicated security professionals who work on our systems every day to make sure they’re safe and protected from intrusion. We have encryption programs that allow us to store information in a way that is difficult to access. When we transmit data, we primarily do so internally and always in a secure way. We have a precise record retention policy so that we only maintain those records that are necessary. Finally, we maintain a careful system to adhere to your wishes whether you want your information public or not. If you have other questions about ASU Link, the latest innovation from ASU Foundation, please visit the FAQ section of our website! https://ow.ly/Xn7q50Siun5 #ASULink

The love story of Ken Hollin and Michelle Brown-Hollin is one you don’t want to miss! Together, the two have a combined total of almost 65 years of service to Arizona State University. Now, they’ve cemented their legacy at the university by establishing two scholarships. The Michelle Brown-Hollin Scholarship will provide support for incoming first-year students enrolled in Barrett, The Honors College. The Ken Hollin Scholarship will benefit students who transfer from Arizona Western College to ASU. Read the full story, including how they met, in this ASU News article: https://ow.ly/URHe50Siulk

“I'm grateful to donors because they're supporting my dream of pursuing higher education. They're helping me on my journey through the education process, which can be so complicated and complex. And just having that financial weight off my chest allows me to focus on my studies and what I want to do in the future. This scholarship has made my life so much easier.” Maya Sarraf graduated from ASU this spring with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and forensic psychology. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in auditory and language neuroscience at ASU. Her education has been supported by the Smith Marshall Scholarship, which you can contribute to here: https://ow.ly/39AX50Siuiq

In 2016, evolutionary biologist Melissa Wilson launched a community-engaged campaign to support sequencing the Gila monster’s genome. Now, Wilson and her team at School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University have accomplished that goal. The genome diversity of the Gila monster can give research insights in understudied reptiles by filling in a knowledge gap about how evolution works. You can read more about this accomplishment in ASU Thrive magazine at https://ow.ly/emfS50Siu9R Interested in supporting more research like this? Check out the School of Life Sciences page on our website! https://ow.ly/9UXb50Siu9S

A new gift from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust will establish the Piper Servant Leader Network: Purpose-Driven Careers, No Matter the Major at Arizona State University. The grant, given as what Piper Trust called a “gift to the community” in recognition of its 25th year, will support a three-credit, service-learning companion course for each of the 100 students participating per year. Throughout the two-year program, students will be placed and serve with local nonprofit organizations through volunteer hours and a separate one-semester internship, for which they will receive a stipend. They also will complete an introduction to nonprofit organizations course and receive micro-credentials in the form of badges suitable for posting online or including on a resume. You can read the full story at https://ow.ly/lntP50SAInF Thank you to Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust for your generous gift and your longstanding commitment to ASU. #BeTheSolution ASU Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions

The ASU Gammage Cultural Participation programs give people of all economic circumstances and cultures access to community arts programs, world-class artists and innovative academic learning tools and initiatives. Philanthropic support allows ASU Gammage to create life-changing experiences for members of the many unique cultural communities that make up Arizona. Flip through for a closer look at some of the programs! If you’d like to support this cause, visit the fundraising page to learn more: https://ow.ly/Fpu950Shxr5

Cordelia Candelaria, Regents Professor Emeritus in the School of Transborder Studies, may not teach in a classroom regularly, but she still educates everyone she meets who will listen. Five years ago, in pursuit of making Arizona State University classroom concepts and theories applicable to real-life situations, Candelaria made the founding donation for the PULSE program. PULSE stands for People-Power Undergoing Life Sustaining Education. This program provides workshops for ASU faculty and students to integrate fact-based reasoning into their analysis and decision-making in areas such as diversity, law and civics. We’re grateful for the philanthropy and vision shown by Candelaria, as well as many of the faculty and staff at ASU. Thank you!

As part of the ASU Gammage Journey Home program, seven incarcerated women performed in front of 22 audience members, ranging from jail staff to ASU Gammage donors. The room oscillated from laughter and joy to tears and heartache, while both the inmates and audience members found common ground in a rare moment of vulnerability shared amongst strangers. Launched in 2001, Journey Home is an intensive four-week program designed to raise the awareness and consciousness of incarcerated women through creative writing, expressive movement, storytelling and visual arts. The program empowers these women to create different lives for themselves in the future. Thank you to Jenny Norton, Bob Ramsey and Union Pacific Foundation for sponsoring this year’s Journey Home program. Read the full story at https://ow.ly/yBgN50ShxoR