$30M gift to ASU aims to lift service, Maryvale
Helping community part of mission by Wattses
Arizona State University’s publicservice college bears a new name after the university received one of its largest-ever donations, part of which will strive to improve the future for kids and families in Maryvale.
The Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions is named for the founders of Sunstate Equipment, Mike and Cindy Watts.
The Wattses will donate $30 million to ASU to help students succeed through scholarships and mentoring, pay for professorships and launch a community initiative in Maryvale, where the Wattses grew up.
ASU announced the gift at the Community Solutions Festival in downtown Phoenix on Monday.
The college houses programs including social work, criminal justice, nonprofit management, public service and public policy, tourism and recreation management, urban studies and parks and recreation.
ASU President Michael Crow called the gift “revolutionary” because it shows how higher education can help underserved communities and students.
Mike and Cindy Watts “are lockstep with our mission of embracing the communities we serve and taking full responsibility for their long-term success,” Crow said in a press release.
The donation will have three major components: student success, academic excellence and community investment.
The money will provide scholarships for first-generation college students to help them with tuition or for experiences such as studying abroad or internships, with the hope of increasing retention and graduation rates.
The public-service college has ASU’s highest percentage of first-generation students.
Funding also will go toward programs such as the Spirit of Service Scholars, a leadership-training program that will do community outreach at Maryvale schools.
Other initiatives that will benefit include: the Community Solutions Coop that focuses on service learning; the Student Social Entrepreneurship Fund, which offers seed money to student entrepreneurs; and the Undergraduate Research Program, which helps students work with professors on research related to societal challenges.
The donation will support five endowed professorships focused on