Michael M. Crow (born October 11, 1955) is an American professor, science and technology policy scholar and expert in university design. He is the 16th and current president of Arizona State University, having succeeded Lattie F. Coor on July 1, 2002. He is credited with designing the New American University model, which demonstrates simultaneous educational access, comprehensive excellence and social impact. He was previously Executive Vice Provost of Columbia University, where he was also a professor of Science and Technology Policy in the School of International and Public Affairs. He is also chairman of the board for In-Q-Tel, the Central Intelligence Agency's venture capital firm. In 2024, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.

Early life and education

Crow was born in San Diego, California, on October 11, 1955, the eldest of four siblings. His mother died when he was 9 leaving his widowed father, a sailor in the United States Navy, to raise the children on his own. As is common with military families, they moved many times during Crow's childhood. Crow was a Boy Scout who earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1969. By the time he had graduated from Warren Township High School, he had attended 17 different schools. Crow attended Iowa State University on an ROTC scholarship, graduating in 1977 with a BA in political science and environmental studies. Following his graduation, he worked for five years at research centers in Iowa and Illinois focusing on energy and policy research. Crow earned his doctoral degree in Public Administration, with a focus on Science and Technology Policy, from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University in 1985.

Career

After earning his doctorate, Crow worked as an advisor to the Office of Technology Assessment in the United States Congress and was a Research Fellow on the Technology and Information Policy Program at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He concurrently began his teaching career, first at the University of Kentucky and then at Iowa State University. He joined the Iowa State faculty in 1988 as an Associate Professor and Director of its Institute for Physical Research and Technology. By 1991, he had become an Institute Professor there and had also worked as a consultant for the United States Department of Energy and Columbia University. Crow left Iowa State in 1991 to take up an appointment as Professor of Science and Technology Policy, at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. He was a protégé of Jonathan Cole, Provost and Dean of Faculties at Columbia, and his administrative career progressed rapidly. Within two years, Crow was appointed Executive Vice Provost, Columbia's third highest administrative post. At Columbia, he was instrumental in developing the university's digital online education strategy and in creating the Columbia Earth Institute. In 1999, Crow was asked by Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet to become chairman of the board for In-Q-Tel, the CIA's venture capital firm. In 2002, Crow was appointed the 16th and current President of Arizona State University. In 2006 he was made a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and in 2008 received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Iowa State University. Crow celebrated the 20th anniversary of his presidency in 2022, at which time the Arizona Board of Regents named him the inaugural Regents Distinguished President of Arizona State University. As President of ASU, Michael Crow has sought to redefine the role of ASU as the New American University.

Personal life

Crow is married to Sybil Francis, who holds a Ph.D. in political science and government from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is CEO of the Center for the Future of Arizona, which she co-founded with Lattie Coor in 2002. The couple has one daughter and resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Crow has a son and daughter from a previous marriage.

Selected publications

Books

Articles