Economic Affairs

Value added growth

In the past year, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Affairs (OVPREA) focused on a number of economic initiatives. Examples include advancing SkySong, providing entrepreneurship training via ASU Technopolis and the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, launching new student experiential learning programs, enabling ASU to develop relationships with multi-national corporations such as Google, Motorola, Bank of America, and Dial and working with leading economic organizations including Greater Phoenix Leadership, Greater Phoenix Economic Council and the Arizona Department of Commerce.

OVPREA strives to connect ASU’s discovery and innovation assets with corporations that are actively engaged in research and development. In late 2007, the relationship between ASU and The Dial Corporation was taken to a new level of collaboration. Dial, a longtime corporate leader in Greater Phoenix, is known for its leading consumer product brands and its talented team of innovators who progressively develop new technologies and products. When Dial became part of Henkel KGaA in 2004, it was immediately branded as a global leader in both consumer and industrial markets with brands and technologies that make people’s lives easier, better and more beautiful. With Henkel’s substantial heritage, global reach and interest in sustainability and new technologies, this partnership with ASU is a significant opportunity to ignite a strong link between Dial and ASU.