Maricopa County residents realized a $4.85 return on investment for every dollar the county Parks and Recreation Department spent on operating costs at its eight parks in 2019, according to an ASU economic impact study. 

• Read more about Research finds taxpayers get more than 4 times return on investment in Maricopa County parks and recreation

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.

• Read more about New research director for Kyl Center focused on equity in water access

The country’s reckoning with social justice this year has put a spotlight on America’s memorials. Who gets to be remembered forever, and who tells that story?

Big monuments are expensive and immovable, and they can get bogged down in conflicts over cost and design.

Now, a cross-disciplinary team at Arizona State University will use technology to create a new kind of monument that is both universal and intensely personal, called the Augmented Reality Children’s Memorial Marker.

• Read more about ASU team to create augmented reality memorial to child victims

Arizona State University’s Bachelor of Science degree program in nonprofit leadership and management this fall became the world’s first undergraduate degree curriculum to be accredited by the international Nonprofit Academic Centers Council.

• Read more about ASU bachelor's degree program in nonprofit leadership and management is world’s first to receive NACC accreditation

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable fall 2020 graduates.

Arizona State University PhD graduate Charlene Poola’s hard work and dedication toward enhancing the lives of Native peoples won her recognition from the internationally recognized Heard Museum, which focuses on American Indian art.

• Read more about Eagle Spirit Award recipient honored for hard work, dedication toward enhancing lives of Indigenous peoples

A Maricopa County COVID-19 case investigative team consisting of Arizona State University students, assisted by faculty and staff from the ASU School of Social Work in Tucson, has closed nearly 15,000 cases since June through extensive interviews and contact tracing.

Effective contact tracing involves identifying infected individuals and anyone with whom they’ve been in contact, then working with those people to halt further spread of the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Read more about COVID-19 contact-tracing team of ASU students closes nearly 15K cases in 6 months

Arizona State University is conducting coronavirus testing for a vulnerable population — those who work with people experiencing homelessness — with help from a $45,000 grant from the BHHS Legacy Foundation.

The testing is funded as a result of the generous support of the BHHS Legacy Foundation, an Arizona charitable organization whose philanthropic mission is to enhance the quality of life and health of those it serves.

• Read more about Grant funds coronavirus testing for those working closely with individuals experiencing homelessness

• Read more about Grad's fascination with criminal justice began with 'Law & Order' and led to a degree

• Read more about From childhood, grad fought inequitable treatment of others; law school is her next goal

• Read more about ASU grad knew early that when she grew up she wanted to be a helper