Geoffrey Gonsher has no doubt collected his fair share of accolades during a public-sector career that has spanned more than five decades serving four Arizona governors and several Phoenix mayors. But a recent teaching award, granted at the urging of his ASU public policy students, may be among his most treasured.
Public affairs
Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2021 graduates.
Cyrus Commissariat grew up in Los Angeles but moved to Arizona when he was in middle school and has called it home ever since. He is the grandchild and child of immigrants and his family taught him that the value of a good education was critical for succeeding.
The Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, the nation’s largest comprehensive public service college, was recognized today with elite rankings for its schools of public affairs and criminology. With highly rated programs in each of its four schools, Watts College presents vivid evidence for the core claim of Arizona State University: excellence and inclusion go hand in hand. Indeed, half of the 14 ASU graduate-degree programs ranked in the top 10 are found in Watts College, ASU’s most diverse unit.
American Indian Policy Institute (AIPI) Executive Director Traci Morris (Chickasaw Nation) is one of 25 Top Women in Higher Education in 2021, an annual honor bestowed by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine.
ASU students overcame the physical challenges of reduced on-campus traffic in 2020 to register large numbers of fellow students to vote and organize other successful voter engagement programs administered by the Congressman Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Policy.
Unlike countries with parliamentary systems, where governing with pluralities rather than majorities is the norm, the United States has only two major parties, meaning usually one or the other is in charge of one or both houses by reasonably comfortable majorities.
That changed after the 2020 election, with the Democrats only barely in control of Congress by about 10 votes in the House of Representatives and, by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote, just an official majority in the Senate, which is divided 50-50.
When Kathryn Sorenson was director of water services for the city of Phoenix, she was in charge of a massive infrastructure that included 7,000 miles of pipeline.
When she needed information, she often used the resources of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, which provides research and support for decision-makers.
“They have produced some amazing papers on water security, groundwater management and adjudication reform,” Sorenson said.
Two professors in ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions have received another grant to study homicide among intimate partners in two more states.
Part-time jobs, which students often take while finishing school, aren’t usually known for their location at the Arizona State Capitol. Hannah Roehr won’t go full time in her position until she graduates from Arizona State University in December, but she’s already the public information officer, known as a PIO, for one of the state’s top elected officials.