Arizona State University

Arizona State University (ASU) is (as of 2004) the third-largest university in the United States with a student body of 57,543. With its main campus in Tempe, (Maricopa county), it was founded in 1885 as a territorial (Tempe Normal) school and became a state university in 1958.

Each year nearly 10,000 students graduate from its campuses: ASU Main, ASU West, and ASU East. ASU houses the world-renowned Institute of Human Origins. It is also home to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication. Under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ASU is considered among the United States's Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive; under the previous Carnegie classification, it was considered a Research I University.

ASU is currently aspiring to climb up in the rankings in US News and World Report under the new leadership of its 16th president Michael Crow in 2002. Toward this goal several initiatives are being pursued the most notable of which is the AZ bio design institute. Additionally, two gifts of $50 million were given to the College of Engineering and the College of Business; both were named after their benefactors. The COE is now the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, and the COB is now the W.P. Carey School of Business. Administrators hope that the extra money will help both schools move up in national rankings.

ASU is a member of the PAC-10 athletic conference. Athletes, students, and alumni of ASU are known as Sun Devils, a nickname adopted in 1946; earlier nicknames were the Normals or the Owls and, later, the Bulldogs. The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by Disney illustrator Bert Anthony. ASU's main outdoor sports venue is named Sun Devil Stadium.