Opening Remarks – Fireside Chat – President Crow and David Levin

David Levin

University Entrepreneur in Residence, Arizona State University

David is the University Entrepreneur in Residence at ASU and he is the Chairman of SparkBeyond, an AI based decision support and hypothesis engine. Seeing that large parts of the higher education system are facing what amounts to an existential threat if they are unable to come into a new blended world, David originated the concept behind REMOTE in April of this year. Harnessing his experience of virtual conferences, he saw the potential for the virtual conference to deliver participating faculty a unique opportunity to model best practices and to develop a new network of connections to support their teaching. David first floated the idea in ASU on April 4th and, with the strong backing of colleagues has led the development of the event – and is the Executive Producer of the event. David has spent 20 years as the CEO of four global companies (two in media and two in technology) – leading them through cycles of innovation, business model evolution, geographic reorientation and cultural renewal. In his last role he was the CEO of McGraw Hill. Originally from Zimbabwe, David now lives in New York city.

Michael Crow

Michael M. Crow became the sixteenth president of Arizona State University on July 1, 2002. He is guiding the transformation of ASU into one of the nation’s leading public metropolitan research universities, an institution that combines the highest levels of academic excellence, inclusiveness to a broad demographic, and maximum societal impact—a model he terms the
“New American University.” ASU pursues comprehensive excellence focused on the major challenges of our time, as well as those central to the quality of life, sustainable development, and economic competitiveness of Arizona and the nation. He has committed the university to sustainability, social embeddedness, and global engagement, and championed initiatives leading to record levels of student diversity. During his tenure, ASU has more than quadrupled research expenditures, completed an unprecedented infrastructure expansion, and chosen the nation’s most innovative school by U.S. News & World Report for the last five years.