FY26 Year in review
Media Relations and
Strategic Communications
FY26 Year in review
Media Relations
and Strategic
Communications
Year in review
FY26
Media Relations and Strategic Communications
Working across the university to share ASU’s research, innovation and impact — helping advance the ASU Charter through strategic storytelling, awareness and positioning.
Sharing ASU’s research, innovation and impact.
Advancing the charter.
Leveraging storytelling, media relations and strategic communications to showcase ASU.
By the numbers
4.26M
total views on ASU News
1,600
total stories written, edited and published on ASU News
39,626
pitches sent to reporters
5,897
media hits landed
850
incoming media inquiries fielded via email, unrelated to active pitching
254
newsletter issues sent to segments of 182,755 total subscribers
11.7M
social media reach
2,111
social media posts
7,345
photos filed
Major
announcements
Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures
The launch of the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures generated widespread attention during Climate Week in New York and showcased ASU’s leadership in conservation and sustainability. Coverage of the $115 million gift from the Rob Walton Foundation, the largest philanthropic investment in university history, reached audiences across higher education, philanthropy, business and environmental sectors. The announcement elevated ASU’s role in shaping the future conservation workforce and highlighted the university’s growing influence in global sustainability conversations.
390 media hits including
John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering
The announcement of the John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering drew attention to ASU Health and the university’s growing role in shaping the future of health care. Coverage focused on the school’s preliminary accreditation, its ability to begin recruiting students for 2026 and a nine-figure naming gift from ASU alum John Shufeldt. Media pickup across Arizona, higher education and health care outlets helped elevate ASU’s vision for a new generation of physician-engineers trained to tackle the state’s most pressing health challenges.
363 media hits including
Global Institute for the Future of Energy
The launch of the Global Institute for the Future of Energy showcased ASU’s leadership in energy education and innovation. The announcement centered on a $50 million gift from Thunderbird alumnus Robert Zorich and was amplified through media coverage, partner networks and engagement with energy industry audiences. The campaign elevated ASU’s role in advancing conversations about energy literacy, workforce development and the future of global energy systems.
392 paid and earned media hits including
names
Big
Léon Marchand
Swimmer Léon Marchand, who won four gold medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics and 10 NCAA championships in three years with ASU, returned to the university this fall to complete his degree in computer science.
will.i.am
Tech founder and renowned musician will.i.am taught his first class as a Professor of Practice in spring 2026. From Tempe and Los Angeles, The Agentic Self class empowered students to ethically create, deploy and protect their own personal AI agents to advance their academic and professional lives.
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford served as the keynote speaker for Arizona State University’s spring Undergraduate Commencement on May 11, 2026. Addressing a crowd of over 22,000 graduates at Mountain America Stadium, the legendary actor and environmental activist urged the Class of 2026 to harness their generation's power and fight for climate action and social justice.
media hits
Big
“Evolve or die.”
This bold mantra shapes ASU President Michael Crow’s mission to transform higher education, moving beyond the traditional, exclusionary model to build a university rooted in access, innovation, excellence and real-world impact.
What happens when a university refuses to accept that higher education must remain exclusive, expensive and slow to change? In a CNBC interview, President Crow shared how ASU is building a new model centered on access, adaptability and real-world impact.
Research only matters if people understand why it matters. In Scientific American, ASU President Michael Crow discussed the need to make science more accessible, more relevant and more connected to the challenges facing communities today.
Higher education has spent generations rewarding exclusivity. On Freakonomics, President Crow made the case for a new model built on inclusion, discovery and broad societal impact.
As the national conversation around higher education continued to evolve, The Wall Street Journal examined Arizona State University's distinctive approach to reimagining public higher education. The story explored ASU's charter-driven model of broad access, workforce alignment and innovation within the context of a changing political landscape.
As debates about the future of higher education intensified, Michael Crow emerged as a leading voice in Washington Post coverage, advancing a vision centered on innovation, access and opportunity at scale.
Video
highlights
Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures at ASU
A bold new vision for conservation took center stage with the launch of the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures at ASU. The video showcased how the school will bring together research, technology, Indigenous knowledge and hands-on learning to prepare leaders for the world's most pressing environmental challenges. Anchoring the announcement of a historic $115 million gift, the video highlighted ASU's commitment to shaping the future of conservation on a global scale.
Inside ASU’s MacroTechnology Works
Innovation doesn't stop in the lab. At ASU's MacroTechnology Works, groundbreaking research is transformed into real-world technologies through a first-of-its-kind facility that brings together researchers, students and industry partners under one roof. The video explored how this unique collaboration is bridging the gap between discovery and manufacturing, accelerating breakthroughs in microelectronics while strengthening Arizona's growing semiconductor ecosystem and the workforce that will power its future.
will.i.am and The Agentic Self
From classroom discussions about ethics to the creation of personalized AI agents, “The Agentic Self” offered a glimpse into how ASU is preparing students for an AI-powered future. The video featured will.i.am’s unique approach to teaching and highlighted a course that brings together students from Arizona and Los Angeles to to responsibly harness the power of artificial intelligence.
Baking down borders
A loaf of bread became the starting point for a story about culture, community and the Sonoran Desert. We followed James Beard Award-winning baker Don Guerra as he worked with local farmers, served customers at Barrio Bread and shared his vision as baker-in-residence in ASU’s School of Transborder Studies. The video showcased how food can connect people across generations, communities and borders.
events
Big
SEMICON West
All eyes in the semiconductor industry were on Phoenix as SEMICON West came to Arizona for the first time in its history. ASU played a prominent role throughout the conference, from keynote appearances by President Michael Crow and presentations by faculty experts to the unveiling of the Materials to Fab Center. Together, the events showcased ASU’s leadership in workforce development, research and innovation for one of the state’s fastest-growing industries.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
The American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting provided a global stage for ASU research. We supported faculty speakers, connected reporters with experts, partnered with science influencers, produced video content for national distribution and worked across channels to elevate ASU’s presence before, during and after the conference. The campaign reached journalists, policymakers, researchers and the broader public, extending the impact of ASU’s participation well beyond Phoenix.
collateral
Strategic
Through strategic print materials — including one-pagers and program collateral — we transformed complex ideas into accessible, compelling communications for media, policymakers, community partners, students and families.
#2 in the U.S.
for employability
Arizona's rise as a semiconductor hub
ASU experts for SEMICON West
Food is Medicine
initiative
Awards and
recognition
13
American Advertising Awards (ADDY) *including Best of Show
4
Emmy Awards
7
Copper Anvil Awards
13
American Advertising Awards (ADDY)
*including Best of Show
4
Emmy Awards
7
Copper Anvil Awards
project
Anatomy of a
2026 Spring Commencement
A record-setting class of more than 22,000 graduates marked one of the largest commencement celebrations in ASU history, with actor and conservationist Harrison Ford delivering the undergraduate commencement address alongside philanthropist and conservationist Howard Graham Buffett. Our team led a coordinated storytelling effort across video, photography, media relations and social media, capturing the milestone from every angle and generating widespread coverage across local, national and digital news outlets.
1.35M
total social media views
268.2K
views garnered by videos of Harrison Ford’s speech produced for ASU’s main YouTube channel
195,925
views across ASU News Instagram and Threads accounts
100,326
views across President Crow’s LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram accounts
983 media hits including
ASU in LA
We highlighted ASU’s unique creative ecosystem in downtown Los Angeles through the voices of students and faculty from ASU FIDM, The Sidney Poitier New American Film School and the Narrative and Emerging Media program. The suite of videos showcased how ASU connects learning with industry opportunities in one of the world’s leading creative capitals. The main campaign video went on to earn Best of Show at the American Advertising Awards (ADDYs).
2.43M
views of main video on ASU YouTube channel
1.58M
social media impressions (08/21 – 09/04/25)
235,689
impressions from paid Meta campaign (4/28 – 5/31/26)
Behind the scenes
4 crew members
7 full days of production
37 locations
15 - 18 hour days
18 hours of raw video footage captured
Over 14k raw photos captured
595 final edited photos
95 model releases signed
30 photo galleries
2,150 collective football fields walked (122.16 miles)
