Arizona State University has already been at the forefront of increasing the diversity of its student body, assessing humans as an interplanetary species and is the #1 University in the U.S. for innovation (U.S. News and World report), ASU President Michael Crow has now been named on the latest Fortune magazine's list of the world's 50 greatest leaders who "are transforming the world and inspiring others to do the same."
Professor Crow is number 44, just behind Land O'Lakes butter CEO Beth Ford, who is the first openly gay woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, and just ahead of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social entrepreneur from India who has pioneered improvements in hygiene for third world countries.
According to Fortune, "Crow has spent 17 years reinventing 'party school' ASU as a higher-ed innovator, adding satellite campuses, online degrees, and partnerships to educate Starbucks employees and Uber drivers."
The magazine also cited the fact that ASU has nearly doubled in size under Crow's watch to 98,000 students and noted that "the student body is far more economically and racially diverse. Expansion hasn't hurt learning: 52% of students graduate in four years, up from 28% in 2002."
The most influential world leaders were Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda.
They were followed by:
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
- Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
- Chinese internet entrepreneur Pony Ma.
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
- Swedish student and climate activist Greta Thunberg.
- Margrethe Vestager, competition commissioner of the European Commission, which regulates Internet companies.
- Sudanese journalist Anna Nimiriano.
- Chef and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés.
- Doug McMillon and Lisa Woods, who developed an innovative healthcare strategy for Walmart employees.
