The ASU Havasu faculty may be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, but plans to bring a four-year college to Lake Havasu City have been around for over a decade.
Below is a condensed timeline of the journey to bring the Arizona State University campus to Lake Havasu.
2004 — Lake Havasu City residents Conrad “Connie” Blevins, Floyd Hamilton, and Bill Ullary form the Havasu Foundation for Higher Education with the goal of introducing a four-year college in Lake Havasu City. Blevins has had the idea of bringing a public university to Havasu since 1989. -9ac77f261fe4.html)
2010 — Due to budget cuts, the Lake Havasu Unified School District Board voted to close Daytona Middle School. The Board will approve an agreement with ASU to use the former middle school facility as a college campus free of charge. As part of the agreement, ASU will pay for campus utilities and maintenance. (https://www.havasunews.com/news/school-s-future-in-limbo/image_fd36f1f4-9e1a-5900-be28-8803af435f69.html)
June 4, 2010 — ASU completes Lake Havasu City campus feasibility study. The survey was conducted among students and adults in Lake Havasu City, Mojave County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County. Her 54% of LHHS students said they were more likely to attend her ASU campus here for a bachelor’s degree, and her 8% of Lake Havasu adults (3,400) said they definitely applied said it was very likely.
February 2011 — ASU announces plans for a Lake Havasu campus with the Havasu Foundation for Higher Education to raise $2 million in funding. Arizona State University invested her $1.5 million in the campus, with renovations and first-year operating expenses totaling him $3.5 million. Steve Greeley, president of the foundation at the time, called the announcement the biggest thing to happen to Havasu since London Bridge.
September 2011 – The Santiagos, owner of The Beachcomber Resort and Island Inn Suites, donated $1 million to ASU Havasu. This exceeds the Havasu Foundation for Higher Learning’s funding goal of $2 million. (Photo: https://www.havasunews.com/news/two-reasons-havasu-met-fundraising-goal-for-asu-campus/article_3d184d65-a5f0-5f4f-8c9c-231bdfa4287f.html)
September 22, 2011 – The Arizona Board of Directors gives final approval to the ASU Lake Havasu City Campus. (Photo: https://www.havasunews.com/news/ariz-regents-to-vote-on-asu-pact/image_20c3e3d6-c5a3-5b52-98ee-5d3ad051b6e5.html)
October 6, 2011 – Phase 1 of the renovation work at Daytona Middle School (now ASU Havasu) begins preparing classes to start next year. Local architect Jerry Clark oversaw the renovation. In addition to working on other ASU buildings in the Phoenix Valley, Clark was also responsible for the renovation of the London Bridge Resort. (Photo: https://www.havasunews.com/news/community_news/phase-1-begins-at-future-asu-college-campus/article_afb31b53-c1a9-50b9-b2b2-92036a2c4a81.html)
October 8, 2011 – ASU Havasu hires its first faculty member, Laura Rosensweet, as an Admissions Advising Counselor. Professor Sharon Harvey and Loren Crabtree Distinguished Visiting Professor. Rosensweet focused on student recruitment, while Harvey and Crabtree developed general education curricula for satellite campuses.
August 23, 2012 – First day of classes at ASU Havasu. ASU Havasu’s first class has 70 of his students, some of whom have traveled all the way to the East Coast to attend the new campus. His 50% of students were freshmen and the other 50% were transfer students.
August 21, 2014 – Eight students, the first graduates of ASU Havasu, were awarded their degrees at the Daytona Gym. ASU President Michael Crow kept his promise and covered the cost of his three trips to Tempe so that the graduates could attend the graduation ceremony at Sun Devil Stadium. (Photo: https://www.havasunews.com/news/asu-havasu-s-first-grads-walk-tonight/article_efaf4980-dcb1-11e3-a289-0019bb2963f4.html)
August 15, 2015 – After housing students at the Days Inn for the first few years, ASU Havasu has officially moved students to on-campus residence halls. The university purchased an economy inn near campus and converted the hotel into a dormitory that could accommodate her 160 students. (Photo: https://www.havasunews.com/news/first-students-in-asu-s-new-dorms-settle-in/article_04fc6960-43c4-11e5-a5f9-67488d331f53.html)
January 2019 – ASU Havasu announces a new nursing program, a satellite extension of ASU’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation. In addition to increasing college enrollment, ASU Havasu hopes its nursing program, which can accommodate 32 students per year, will help address the health worker shortage in Mojave County. (Photo: https://www.havasunews.com/news/asu-havasu-to-beef-up-options-with-new-nursing-program/article_f82a9e72-c433-11eb-a305-23538451e47b.html)
