Newsroom
Garden of Dreams still has longtime professor inspired by what SCRD students, community accomplished there nearly a decade ago
by Mark J. Scarp
February 8, 2021
For ASU faculty, milestone employment anniversaries – those numbers of years ending in “0” or “5” – provide special opportunities to reflect on time teaching, researching, learning and contributing toward helping students find their place to work on making a better world.
Robert Ashcraft has taught at the School of Community Resources and Development (SCRD) through its many name changes over the 35 years he has logged as a faculty member. Today, the professor has a title befitting his longevity at ASU: He is executive director and Saguaro Professor of Civic Enterprise of the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation.
One of Ashcraft’s most memorable events from his three-and-one-half-decade tenure was the 2011 construction of the Garden of Dreams at a city park less than two miles from the Downtown Phoenix campus.
“It’s a great story that brings together all the elements of what we seek to do: inspire and educate our students,” he said.