ASU Retirees Association (ASURA) Video History Project Interviews

The Rio Salado Project began in the College of Architecture in the fall of 1966 when Dean James Elmore proposed to the studio faculty "Let's do something with the (Salt) River." This is a collection of videos describing the progress of the project since students presented their work over 50 years ago. The most prominent development is the Tempe Town Lake.

Born in Pittsburgh, PA and raised in a small town in Indiana (Seymour, IN), Harold Fearon received his BA in Management and his MBA from Indiana University where he became interested in teaching as a career. After his military service, he went to Michigan State University where he received his PhD in Management with a dissertation titled “Purchasing Research in American Business”. His specialty was industrial purchasing.

Harold was invited to come to ASU to be part of the College of Business by a former professor from IU who had moved to ASU. He talks about how he promised to only stay 2 years and has been here close to 30! During his time at ASU he was chair of the Department of Management in the College of Business. He became chair of the Department of Purchasing, Transportation and Operation which he founded to support the increase in interest in the purchasing field. After his retirement, he established a research institute (the first institute located at the ASU Research Park) that was nationally supported called The Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies (CAPS). He also was the founder and first editor of the “Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management” which is still in publication today. In his spare time, he was co-founder of the Rio Salado Bank, a community bank in Tempe, about which he relates many funny events!

James W. Elmore will always be remembered as the founding dean of the College of Architecture at Arizona State University. Jim’s original intent in coming to Phoenix in 1948 was to work as an architect for Guirey & Jones. Jim came to ASU in 1949 to a non-existent department at then Arizona State College. He nurtured the department into a nationally prominent design school in less than 20 years. Jim was also instrumental in the design and development of the Rio Salado Project. After retirement from ASU, he continued to promote his design for aerial (elevated) transit and a city for Phoenix and greater Phoenix area.

Jim is a native of Nebraska receiving his BA degree in architecture in 1938 from the University of Nebraska. After spending six years with the US Army Corp of Engineers, he went back to school on the GI Bill and received his Masters in Architecture from Columbia University. This interview has Jim telling us about his road to becoming an architect, to becoming a teacher, developing the College of Architecture and his continued community involvement after retirement.