ASU President Michael Crow’s first student forum of the year, held on the Polytechnic campus, was dominated by questions around how the University is navigating President Donald Trump’s administration.
The forum was hosted by the Associated Students of ASU in the Cooley Ballrooms on Friday morning. The moderator was the Undergraduate Student Government Polytechnic President Shreya, a sophomore studying financial technology.
Navigating the Trump administration
“We’re ending the year as our most successful financial year,” Crow said. “So you might have heard stories from other universities about issues, financial disasters, layoffs, staff reductions, salary reductions — we don’t have any of that.”
Another major point mentioned by Crow in his update on the University was how little the international student population was affected by the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students.
READ MORE: Revoked visas never reinstated, restricts affected students from entering US
“We thought that very large numbers of students might have their visas interrupted,” Crow said. “It (ended) up being about 500 students had their visa processes interrupted, so we’re happy that an additional 1,000 to 1,500 international students were able to make it here.”
A question asked during the Q&A portion was how the University was responding to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in regard to federal student loan accessibility.
READ MORE: New federal law will force tough decisions for student loan borrowers
In response, Crow said solutions include encouraging everyone to complete the FAFSA, getting students to apply for campus jobs and accelerating students’ degrees.
“There’s a way for you to manage your time, your energy and your money … in which you can make this all work,” Crow said. “We’re there to help you to be able to do that.”
A West Valley campus student posed the question of how the University is going to navigate both its academic autonomy in “external financial pressures,” while also ensuring students’ own First Amendment rights.
Crow said that the University, while it’s not perfect, remains committed to ASU’s protection of free speech.
The University has received a green score from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and received an A from the Anti-Defamation League. Crow said only 11 universities in the country have both top scores.
“We’re one of those 11,” Crow said.
Accomplishments and updates from the University
Crow started off the forum with an update from the University, beginning with remarks about the record number of student enrollment. This fall, ASU was projected to add 42,900 new undergraduate and graduate students from 165 countries.
READ MORE: Small fish in a growing pond: Students experience finding their place at ASU
On top of breaking record enrollment, the University hit a fundraising record with $630.8 million raised by private donors. Crow said this money will go toward projects, scholarships and the University’s endowment.
Crow also mentioned the University’s accomplishment of exceeding 1 billion dollars in research expenditure. This classifies ASU as one of 21 Research 1 universities recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education.
An R1 university classification means that the college has reached the highest level of research activity, according to ACE. ASU is also one of four universities that don’t currently have a medical school to hit that number, Crow said.
“That’s a measurement of competitiveness,” Crow said. “That means our faculty are as competitive as any faculty on the planet in the research that they carry out.”
“I was worried about the ranking and the research operation of the University, but now I’m quite satisfied that we are working upon that, and it will soon be much better,” said Prajval Arora, a freshman studying robotics and autonomous systems, after the forum.
On top of academics, Crow discussed how ASU athletics won big last year. Football, volleyball and both the women’s and men’s swim teams won Big 12 conference titles.
READ MORE: ASU football prepares to defend Big 12 crown ahead of 2025 season
This summer, the University was awarded the Big 12 Commissioners’ Cup. Crow said these accomplishments in the athletics department have led him to dub ASU “the No. 1 University athletically and academically in the Big 12.”
In efforts to expand, ASU has opened several new schools over the past few years, including three on the West campus: The School of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the W.P. Carey School of Business, The School of Interdisciplinary Forensics at the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and The School of Integrated Engineering at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
The Polytechnic campus recently opened The School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks at the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
ASU’s new medical school is expected to go online next year.
“If there’s demand, we can expand,” said Vice President for Student Services Joanne Vogel.
READ MORE: ASU to establish three new schools on the West campus
Between these University updates and pressures from the Trump administration, Crow reassured students at the Polytechnic forum that the University doesn’t expect to be negatively affected by current events.
“We’re plowing ahead in very complex environments right now,” Crow said. “Both internationally and within the United States, (there are) lots of changes, lots of new directions, lots of new trajectories.”
Edited by Sophia Braccio, George Headley and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at elbradfo@asu.edu and follow @emmalbradford__on X.
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Emma BradfordLead Politics Reporter
Emma Bradford is a junior studying journalism and mass communication and political science with a minor in business. She has previously worked at the Cronkite News Washington, D.C. bureau as a Politics and Money Reporter. Bradford is in her fourth semester with The State Press and on the politics desk.
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