Hi, Michael Crow here. I am president at ASU. I want to welcome all of our students – our new students coming in from high school or transferring from community colleges or other universities, and those of you who have been part of our community in the past. I hope that your summer was productive. I also hope that you worked hard; got some new experiences and that you are ready to move forward.

We have been working hard at the university to continue to build a shelter from the economic storm. We have hired new faculty and instructors. Our departments are geared up and ready to go. We have also expanded our financial aid offerings, so it is important that you make certain that the financial aid office knows your needs. If there has been a change in your circumstance – your parents’ employment or your personal financial situation – please make sure that the financial aid office is aware.

One of the things we have been doing is continuing the evolution of the university. We now operate on four campuses. We have schools based on our West campus in west Phoenix, on our Polytechnic campus in east Mesa, and on our Downtown Phoenix and Tempe campuses. I hope that you will all take some time to learn about our many programs and offerings.

I also hope each of you spends some time learning how to use eAdvisor. If you have not been on eAdvisor, particularly those of you who are undergraduates, it can help you to plot your course related to your major. It can also chart a new course if you would like to change your major. It is a new program some of you have used recently, but I know many of you will want to try it right away.

One of the things I’d like to focus on in this message is that we, the staff and faculty of the university, are here to serve you. Some of you coming in to ASU will feel stresses from your family financial situations. Some of you will feel academic stresses. Some of you will feel no stresses. No matter what you are feeling, we hope you will call on us to be helpful to you. We want to give you advice, get you on the right track and help you with what you need to be successful in your academic programs. We have hundreds of staff focused on helping you. We have thousands of faculty and instructors focused on giving you the best educational experience they possibly can. We’re opening our new Barrett Honors College facility on the Tempe campus. We are opening a new nursing facility on the Downtown Phoenix campus. We have a new, large teaching auditorium on the Polytechnic campus. And we are seeing exciting developments on the West campus as New College advances its program.

There is lot of energy and a lot happening at ASU. We have a fantastic fall sports program and I invite you to go to our web site to see how you might participate in them or in one of the hundreds of student organizations we have. All in all, I hope you will take full advantage of everything ASU has to offer.

If you have problems or stresses and you cannot get help, please write directly to me at michael.crow@asu.edu and my office will get you the assistance you need.

Good luck and please let me know what you need. Thanks.