Next Doors: Ahead of the Curve
Arizona’s future is unfolding in ways you may not hear about. We’re going to change that.
By Tom Evans
So a few of us, including our esteemed editor Mike Saucier and I, went to the grand opening of 1951@SkySong back in October. We were still in the kicking-the-tires phase with Frontdoors Media at the time and were attending as part of our consulting work.
If you’re not familiar with 1951@SkySong, it’s the new-ish co-working space at SkySong, The ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, and it was hosting an impressive crowd of several hundred visitors and a program that included a number of local business and educational leaders.
ASU President Michael Crow was one of them, and during his remarks, he brought up the fact that the 1951@SkySong opening was great for the Valley, but it was just one of a bunch of great things happening that no one was hearing about.
“Our goal is to find a way to stimulate the generation of ideas, the generation of new economic opportunity, the empowerment of entrepreneurs across both the social sector and the business sector, the driving forward of innovation at all levels within this local and regional economy, and while we’re just one institution, we’re trying to do all we can…to build on the idea of social mobility and social progress,” Crow said.
“You are hearing from the leader of one of the most significant research universities that exists, that human beings have ever built, that is accessible by the entirety of our qualified student body, working to advance this place to the highest level of economic performance possible. And we’ve gotta get people like you all that are here to start talking about this stuff.”
Crow then pointed out several major initiatives that were underway, companies that had grown out of ASU or won awards, or were contributing to the economy in a significant way. Four new innovation campuses. A massive business school. A start-up that just won a national award from former AOL founder Steve Case. And more and more.
“We’re trying to do everything we possibly can to produce fantastic graduates, fantastic linkages, fantastic networks, to connect to people who have the ability to advance to success our social outcomes and our economic outcomes.
“But you would think that the single most exciting thing here (in Arizona) is the rate of which an orange grows on a tree,” he said. “We have to find a way to get this in the local lexicon.”
And so Saucier turned to me and said, “See, this is the kind of stuff we could write about in Frontdoors.” The kind of stuff that isn’t easy to encapsulate and that people are missing, but is having a massive effect on the future of our state.
I liked the idea, so I stole it. Thanks Mike. And this will be my little contribution to Frontdoors: A column about the great things that are happening in our community — some of them may even be next door — that are flying under the radar or not getting the attention they deserve.
When someone like Michael Crow — who seems like an almost ubiquitous presence in the Valley — gets frustrated because he can’t get the community to hear about some of the great work being done, it’s a sign that there are many other great stories out there that aren’t being told.
I look forward to helping tell some of them. And if you have an idea for something that could be featured here, drop us a note at editor@frontdoorsnews.com.
