Art, Space, and the City: Public Art and Why It Matters

Students of Public Affairs Network (SPAN), in association with Barrett, the Honors College at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, proudly present a forum on public art.

The forum explores the process of how public art can be a change agent for the community, enhances community identity and impact economic development. Come and find out why public art matters.

Thursday, February 19, 2009, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, room 202
(555 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004)
Free.

Panel:
Introductory Remarks: Dr. Robert Denhardt, Director, ASU School of Public Affairs

Moderator: Dr. Betsy Fahlman, Professor of Art History, School of Art, Herberger College of the Arts and Member, Tempe Municipal Arts Commission

Speakers:

• Mary Lucking, M.F.A., Public Artist, Tucson, Arizona
• Dianne Cripe, Public Art Specialist, City of Goodyear
• Ed Lebow, Public Art Program Director, City of Phoenix
• Valerie Vadala Homer, Director Scottsdale Public Art Program & Vice President Scottsdale Cultural Council
• Nancy Levinson, Director, Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory, College of Design, Arizona State University
• Cyd West, Director of Research and Economic Partnerships, Maricopa Partnership for the Arts

Faculty, students, staff and members of the community are invited to attend, offer feedback, and discuss the importance of public art in the community.

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

The Barrett Light Rail Party

Yesterday (6 February 2009), the Barrett Honors College hosted the Barrett Light Rail Party, with 250 players in over 50 teams. Starting at the ASU Tempe campus and finishing at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, the teams and players found items, took pictures, and answered trivia questions along the twenty-mile line.


if you cannot see the slideshow, come to my blog to see it!

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Barrett Honors College student/faculty dinner: Aaron Brown

This evening was the first of the Barrett Honors College Student/Faculty Dinner series at the Taylor Place residential hall cafeteria. Tonight's faculty member was Aaron Brown, former ABC and CNN anchor, and present Walter Cronkite Professor of Journalism. (Yes, that Aaron Brown.)

All the students in attendance were from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, except for Sam Richard and me, and everyone was a resident of Taylor Place except Mr. Brown and me. Naturally, most of the conversation focused on journalism and what the journalism students wanted to be upon exiting college, but Mr. Brown and I had a fantastic conversation on city management, the dichotomy of politics and administration, and growth politics. (More specifics of content to come later.)

The man is extremely nice and personable. He teaches a course in the Cronkite School about turning points in television news history, which is a class I intend to take. I remember watching the horrors of 11 September 2001 happening on my television with Mr. Brown standing from a Manhattan rooftop watching American history unfold. To be there - right next to the man - is quite an honor.

And one I will long remember.

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Barrett Honors College new students

If you also applied for the Barrett Honors College at the same time as you applied to ASU, you should have received a letter welcoming you to the Honors College. As the Student Ambassador of the College of Public Programs who is also in the Honors College, please consider me a resource for any questions that you may have. Give me a call at (602) 496-7827 or send me an e-mail at edwardjensen@asu.edu.

Welcome to the BHC!
-Edward Jensen

The Coin Room Café and graduation well-wishes

Finals have finished and now summer begins! Before that, however, I have lots to do. I'm working on a research project with two professors that will eventually become key to my honors thesis. I'm excited for that!

Anyway, when you're in downtown Phoenix and you're looking for a quick lunch, I encourage you to (at least once!) try out The Coin Room Café at the bottom of the Chase Tower (southeast corner of Central Avenue and Van Buren). The food is excellent and you won't shell out many coins for it!

The food offered is diverse. You can get salads, sandwiches, burgers, and whatever else the chefs and maître d's decide to cook up. And it's reasonable! A typical lunch costs under $5, including drink!

Take my advice - you'll be glad you did!

Finally, to all those graduating this day from the College of Public Programs, my thoughts and best wishes are with you as you embark on the best adventure that life will give to you! This includes fellow Student Ambassador Danielle Coniglio, whose service to this endeavor has been of the highest quality and whose contributions have been endless. We will miss you, but we know that you will do extremely well in whatever you decide to do!

Edward Jensen

Dr Nan Ellin, U&MS Director Lecture on her book, Integral Urbanism

REMINDER! Dr Nan Ellin's lecture on her book, Integral Urbanism, is TODAY at 4:30pm in AG250 on the Tempe Campus.

Dear Barrett Students,

When I was your age, one of the ideas I had for a career that seemed extremely useful and sort of romantic was Urban Design. I liked biology, I liked writing, I thought (don't we all?) that I was a bit artistic, but I wanted to help people directly as well. Urban Design seemed to combine everything I liked.

I still think it combines a lot of the interests that good honors students have, and THIS AFTERNOON, at 4:30 PM, in Room 250 of the Agriculture Building, the Director of ASU's "Urban and Metropolitan Studies" program, Dr. Nan Ellin, will talk about her work in urban design and about the courses and the major you can take in her department.

Nan is a very nice person and good speaker, and I think her program is an exciting one that is particularly suited to Phoenix as a rapidly developing city. I strongly urge you to attend the talk, and hope to see you there this afternoon!

Mark Jacobs
Dean, Barrett Honors College
Professor, School of Life Sciences

Hope to see you there! -Edward Jensen

U&MS's Dr Nan Ellin Lecture on Integral Urbanism

Hello everyone!

ASU's Barrett Honors College sponsors many lectures throughout the year. The next one is on 23 January 2008 at 4:30pm and it features the director of the Urban & Metropolitan Studies program, Dr. Nan Ellin, to talk about "Integral Urbanism". The lecture is at the Tempe campus in the Agriculture Building, room 250.

Biographical information on Dr Nan Ellin, U&MS director
Dr. Ellin is the Director of Urban and Metropolitan Studies Program and an Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs at ASU. She holds an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College. Before coming to ASU, Ellin held academic positions at University of Cincinnati, Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), University of Southern California, and New York University. She was a Fulbright Scholar in France, engaging in research on European New Urbanism. Ellin is a celebrated author and editor, with numerous publications nationwide. As a public intellectual, Ellin also writes periodic urban design columns for the Arizona Republic and consults with public and private sectors on issues related to urban revitalization. More biographical information is available at http://honors.asu.edu.

Edward Jensen