Congressman Pastor to establish ASU center aimed at student engagement in politics

Ed Pastor retired from a 23-year career in Congress earlier this year, but he continues to push forward to better the lives of Arizonans. Today, Pastor announced a $1 million gift of unused campaign funds to establish the Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service at Arizona State University.

“He is a living example of what it means to use public office to better our communities,” says Jonathan Koppell, dean of the College of Public Service and Community Solutions, which will house the Center.

The Center will encourage political engagement among ASU students and the broader community through sponsored events and activities. Students will gain hands-on experience through internships, participation in political forums and meetings with elected officials.

“We were waiting for the right person to honor who embodies ideas of service and can inspire young Arizonans in this time of cynicism and negativism toward electoral politics,” says Jonathan Koppell, dean of the College of Public Service and Community Solutions. “Congressman Pastor has always been about service to community, not advancing his own ego or his own personal wealth, but bridging the partisan divide and helping solve the challenges we face as a nation.”

The Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service will also serve as a hub for a number of university-wide initiatives that engage students in public service including the Spirit of Service Scholars program and the College’s participation in Harvard University’s National Campaign for Political and Civic Engagement.

“We need to do a better job engaging young people in the political process,” says Pastor, the first Latino elected to Congress in Arizona. “They need to be exposed to how policy is made so we can continue to make this country a great democracy.”

Congressman Pastor is the son of a miner from Claypool, Ariz., and the first in his family to graduate from college, earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry from ASU and a law degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Pastor taught high school chemistry in Phoenix and served as deputy director of a community non-profit helping residents in Guadalupe. He was elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 1976 and resigned in 1991 to run for a congressional seat vacated by the late Morris Udall. He retired in January after serving 23 years in the House of Representatives. Congressman Pastor has received many awards for his work, including the ASU Medal of Excellence, the National Education Association’s President Award, and the Distinguished Service Award by the American Public Transportation Association.