I remember years ago visiting the Thunderbird School of Global Management when they had a campus in the West Valley. And then in 2014, everything changed as Arizona State University acquired Thunderbird, and Thunderbird became a unit of the ASU Enterprise. Since that time, ASU sold its Thunderbird campus to Arizona Christian University, and the graduate programs moved to the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus to its own building while the newly created undergraduate programs moved to the ASU West Valley Campus until 2025 when they also moved to the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus.
Every now and then, I find myself on the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus with a meeting in the Thunderbird School of Global Management. There is the Grumpy Mule Cafe on the first floor and the Thunderbird Pub on the fifth floor. There is also the global forum on the first floor with a large digital globe suspended from the middle of the rotunda showing a digital representation of Earth. There are flags on the first floor representing the home countries of all Thunderbird students. The building, opened in 2022, spans 110,000 square feet and offers flexible classroom space and regional lounges with art and artifacts gifted by alumni from around the world.
Thunderbird now serves as a significant part of the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus, which opened for classes in 2006. This campus meshes well with the Downtown Phoenix area as they share streets, parks, and nearby restaurants and stores. In fact, ASU is actively involved in monthly stakeholder meetings with the Downtown Phoenix Inc. (DPI). It helps Downtown stakeholders in knowing what's going on at ASU while it helps ASU to know what's going on around the Downtown Phoenix area. For instance, ASU students and staff enjoy participating in First Fridays while DPI is involved in ASU Welcome Week events. Also, during Family Weekend, Thunderbird hosts Regional Night, which is open to any ASU Downtown students and their families.
At the Downtown Phoenix Campus, every student can drive their own experience as they engage in the events and resources on-campus while attending classes, getting an on-campus job, landing an internship or full-time job, joining clubs and organizations, attending many free events and activities, and so much more. The Dean of Students Office (in the Post Office) and the many student services offices at ASU Downtown Phoenix are always there for students, and it's easy to find your way towards graduation and your future when taking advantage of these resources.
I look forward to seeing what comes next for such an engaging school like Thunderbird and a campus such as the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus in the coming years! read more