The Difference A Gift Can Make
By: Arizona State University
Tags: Higher Education, Giving, Nonprofit, Philanthropy, Arizona State University

The Difference A Gift Can Make

When you invest in your passions through Arizona State University, the cumulative impact of your gifts is far-reaching. Arizona State University Oct 28, 2019·4 min read

There’s never been a better time to make a difference. Here are four stories that show how people are fueling positive change by giving to the causes they cherish through Arizona State University.

Craigslist founder’s gift will help fight media misinformation and expedite corrections

A gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication will help fight misinformation and improve journalistic corrections that can flourish thanks to social media.

“When many reporters and news organizations realize that they have published false information, they are quick to fix that error, but on an impact level, that correction matters only as much as the number of people who see it,” said Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. “This effort of the News Co/Lab is about getting journalistic corrections in front of a lot of people as quickly and as publicly as possible, and I am quite proud to back such a needed effort.”

Scholarship honors memory of landscape architect graduate who had a deep love for family and ASU

Jeffrey Godbehere’s passion for ASU and landscape architecture can live on through future students thanks in part to a scholarship created in his memory. The ’01 graduate achieved many successes at ASU and in life before he succumbed to cancer after a 17-year-battle.

The respect and love his family has for Jeff helped them turn tragedy into positivity — something he always did.

Medicine with fewer side effects. Clean energy. Beus laser lab equips scientists to improve lives

A dedication to the new Beus compact X-ray free electron laser (CXFEL) lab, anticipated to be the first of its kind globally, shed light on the transformational discoveries ahead with this technology.

Biodesign Institute Executive Director Joshua LaBaer compared the instrument to the introduction of the personal computer as a paradigm shift for society.

“We’re here because we’re about to witness the same sort of paradigm shift here at Arizona State University,” he said. “… This is a huge event for all of us.”

Leo (pictured with ASU Professor Petra Fromme) and Annette Beus made a gift that enables pioneering research and discovery and is hailed as transformational for the university. They were inspired to support CXFEL efforts after Leo Beus’s chance meeting with Fromme on a plane.

Ramona Melikian ushers in a new era to preserve her family’s history and expand cultural reach

Ramona Melikian is turning her Armenian heritage into an opportunity to expand the reach for the Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies and preserve her family’s history.

“The Council on Foreign Relations offered a wonderful forum to see dignitaries coming together to discuss foreign policy and share their culture with the hopes of achieving global understanding — I think the Melikian Center offers a similar opportunity by bringing world scholars to Arizona and training future dignitaries,” she said. “For me personally, it’s a way to honor my ancestors by keeping their culture and language alive as well as others on the verge of extinction.”

Read more: Let’s talk about how generosity is changing ASU

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The foundation, a subsidiary of ASU Enterprise Partners, is a private, nonprofit organization that raises and invests private contributions to Arizona State University. It is one of Arizona’s oldest nonprofits.

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Read more stories of generosity at ASU in Impact magazine.