Crow has been president of ASU for 23 years, and is credited with designing the New American University model, which demonstrates simultaneous educational access, comprehensive excellence, and social impact.
The university’s figures paint a fascinating picture: a total of 183,000 current enrolments. In the fall of 2024 alone, ASU welcomed a whopping 17,000 incoming first-year undergraduate students.
Some 42% of ASU undergraduates are first-generation college students.
The university hosts almost 18,000 international students from over 180 countries.
What’s more, 34% of undergraduate students receive Pell Grants, while 85% undergraduates received financial assistance.
Speaking at the ASU+GSV summit in Gurgaon, India, Crow highlighted the university’s mission to expand access to higher education, drive innovation, and serve as a model for inclusive, student-centric learning.
“We will measure ourselves not by who we exclude but who we include and how they succeed,” said Crow, referencing the university’s charter.
“We will admit every qualified student and work for their success, period – no matter how many there are.”
We will admit every qualified student and work for their success, period – no matter how many there are
Michael Crow, ASU
“Everybody has the ability to learn,” said Crow.
“We must change the culture of the university to make it a less self-centred, less egotistical, less know-it-all place where people hang out and wonder why everyone else is stupid.”
“We’ve got to change the notion of being against innovation relative to teaching and learning. You’ve got to find a way to alter the acceptance of technology,” he urged conference delegates.
One example offered by Crow is how ASU is leveraging AI to bridge cultures, offering degrees, health services, and personalised support in multiple languages.
Elsewhere, the university’s use of immersive VR learning systems has seen marked improvements in learning, explained Crow.
ASU’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. The university has been ranked by the US News & World Report as number one in innovation in the US for 10 years in a row. Meanwhile, its sustainability efforts and global impact have also been recognised across various rankings.
“It’s supposed to be impossible,” said Crow, highlighting further achievements including being elected to the Association of American Universities despite the university’s large size and complex student body.
“It’s not impossible because of innovation, because of learning and educational technologies and because of doing things in new kinds of ways.”
Speaking to The PIE‘s CEO Amy Baker during the conference, Crow reinforced his vision for expanding education beyond traditional models that he believes have historically stifled talent.
“The elite model has such social power, it’s such a coin of the realm. It’s unfortunate because it separates people at early ages in ways that are not very productive. I’m hopeful that we can break that down by demonstrating who we’re producing, what our faculty are able to do with the total achievements of the institution.”
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