ASU Retirees Association (ASURA) Video History Project Interviews
This collection includes interviews of Arizona State University retirees, including administrators, faculty, and staff. The video interviews were conducted by the ASU Retirees Association (ASURA) beginning in 2001. Videos are approximately 1 hour each.
Mathew Betz joined ASU in 1961 as a member of the Civil Engineering Department but he spent much of his career in the Provost's Office. Matt was instrumental in the acquiring and early planning of ASU Polytechnic campus. The interview covers Betz's early life in Chicago area, college at Cal Tech and Northwestern majoring in the new field of Transportation Engineering. Early travels to Africa and the Sudan. Teaching career starts at ASU in 1961. Description of ASU Engineering in early days. Project work in Sudan. Assistant Dean in the Graduate College. Teaching/living in Kenya. Evaluating Graduate Programs. Working in Academic V.P.s office to evaluate (Regents directive) all programs. Computerizing the Registrar's Office. Developing the ADOT Transportation Research Center. Creating the Office of Strategic Planning. Vice President of Planning and Budgeting. Offers insight into the past and future of education in Arizona. He served many years on the ASU Retirees Board including President. He suggested and implemented the ASURA Video History Project.
Linda Van Scoy worked the Academic Vice President in the Provost's Office most of her ASU career.
Elmer Gooding joined the Business School where he worked his way up through administrative roles, eventually working in the the Provost's Office.
Interview with Gerry McSheffrey, Provost at ASU West
David Schwalm came to ASU in 1986 as Director of Composition and retired in 2009 as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the Polytechnic Campus. The interview has five main sections:
1, Pre-ASU Years where Dave discusses growing up in Fort Wayne, his education, and professional jobs.
2. Director of Composition addresses Dave’s increasing understanding of the university through his work on general studies and English articulation agreements.
3. ASU West covers Dave’s efforts to grow the student population and with Cathy Church to untangle the West and Tempe campus programs
4. ASU East has extensive coverage of how the campus was started and populated using an alliance with Chandler Gilbert Community College. Doing all this on a shoestring of a budget. Dave discusses why various faculty and programs were moved to the Polytechnic Campus.
5. Reflections allows Dave to reminisce about the “good old days” as well as the good new days.
Charlie Arntzen joined ASU in August 2000 as the Florence Ely Nelson Presidential Endowed Chair and retired in 2016 from the School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute. Charlie was the founding Director of the Biodesign Institute.
Important ASU stories include:
1) the creation of the Biodesign Institute,
2) the design and operation of the Biodesign labs,
3) the development of ZMapp to fight Ebola,
4) The New American University - a discussion of the importance of collaboration, and
5) several comments about Presidents Coor and Crow and Provost Glick