Business Chief USA September 2019

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Dr Jess Evans, Chief Operating
and Digital Transformation Officer
at Arizona State University (ASU)’s
University Technology Office (UTO),
discusses the tech and strategies
that have defined ASU’s modern,
inclusive and prestigious reputation
112
A
rizona State University (ASU) has enjoyed
a remarkable uptick in reputation in
recent years, and its success comes
down to the efficacy of its digital transformation.
“Over the past several years, specifically the last
six, the university has grown exponentially in
terms of improving both its academic presence
and innovation schedule,” says Dr Jess Evans,
Chief Operating and Digital Transformation Officer
at ASU’s University Technology Office (UTO).
“Case in point: over the last four years, US News and
World Report has rated ASU as the most innovative
university in the country, ahead of giants like
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and
Stanford.” Evans credits this meteoric shift to the
vision of ASU President, Michael Crow. “He has
set forth a strategy to truly transform the entire
university, both in the way we do business and how
higher education works,” she says. “The vision
looks to change the model of institutions fundamentally
grounding themselves in exclusivity.
SEPTEMBER 2019