Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus (ASU Downtown) is a public research university in Phoenix, Arizona. It is one of five campuses of Arizona State University.
The school was built in line with ASU President Michael M. Crow's "One University, Many Places" initiative and was built with cooperation from the state of Arizona and local governments.
Campus
The campus is located in the downtown area of Phoenix, in an area bound by Van Buren Street, Fillmore Street, 3rd Avenue, and 7th Street. Classes began there in August 2006 with students from the College of Public Programs and College of Nursing attending classes there (in renovated existing office buildings adjacent to Arizona Center). The campus has expanded from its initial footprint.
The growth of the campus has been linked to the gentrification of downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The movement of faculty, staff, and students to the downtown core has been linked to increases in rents and the out-migration of locals from the original communities. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the departure of many tenants of downtown high-rises, these concerns grew as the University aimed to acquire more space. Others remain concerned about the city of Phoenix financially supporting the endeavor.
Academics
Initially the campus was meant to be the home of the health-related programs of Arizona State University, with the predecessor to the Edson College of Nursing & Health Innovation being the first college to relocate downtown. As Arizona State University continued to grow this plan was soon abandoned. Even so, the Arizona Biomedical Research Core remains adjacent to the campus.
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
In 2008, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication moved to ASU Downtown, with the headquarters and studios of KAET (the PBS member affiliate for the greater Phoenix area, operated by ASU) moving to ASU Downtown in 2009.
Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions
In 2006, the College of Public Programs relocated from Wilson Hall on the university's Tempe campus to Arizona State University's Downtown Phoenix campus. On January 1, 2015, The College of Public Programs officially renamed itself to the College of Public Service & Community Solutions. The Watt College of Public Service and Community Solutions offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees and is organized into four schools and 17 research centers. The programs are divided between the School of Social Work, the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the School of Public Affairs and the School of Community Resources and Development. The college also houses a number of distinguished divisions and research centers, including the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation, the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center.
Edson College of Nursing & Health Innovation
In August 2006, the College of Nursing & Health Innovation moved to the new Downtown Phoenix Campus. The new building, previously called Park Place, was a 1980s-era office building, and was extensively renovated to meet education and research requirements and renamed Health South. Shortly thereafter, Health North was constructed across the courtyard. The Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation also maintains a presence in the Mercado Building, the Arizona Center, ASU West, and ASU Lake Havasu.
College of Health Solutions
The College of Health Solutions was formed in 2012 to help ASU marshal its resources to solve the national problem of poor health outcomes achieved at unsustainably high costs. The goals of the college are to simultaneously improve the patient care experience, improve the health of the population, and reduce per capita health care costs while improving health outcomes. The college also has a presence on the ASU Tempe, West, and Lake Havasu campuses, as well as online, and works closely with its industry and community partners.
College of Integrative Sciences and Arts
The College of Integrative Sciences and Arts formerly the College of Letters and Sciences is based on Arizona State University's Downtown Phoenix campus and offers the liberal arts core curriculum for the campus, as well as bachelor's degree programs in Communication, General Studies, and Interdisciplinary Studies. Instruction ranges from humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. It also collaborates with other colleges and schools. The College also has a presence on the ASU Tempe, Polytechnic, and Online campuses.