Tumultuous times: A Kirk and Crow story

A muddy history … Searching for teachers … And data skills are essential.

Charlie Kirk made a career as a conservative influencer who appeared at universities — or as he called them, “a federally sponsored scam.”

His presence at colleges launched a generation of like-minded conservative thinkers known as Turning Point USA. Even those who opposed Kirk’s movement were still often drawn to his on-campus visits to experience the rage-baiting first-hand.

The stage for most of his career: Arizona State University.

The conservative Christian activist had a less-than-smooth relationship with faculty on campus, including ASU President Michael Crow. But Kirk’s tumultuous history didn’t stop the university from aiding Turning Point at ASU and College Republicans at ASU in hosting a vigil for the podcaster at Desert Financial Arena on Monday night — despite what Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman initially said on Twitter.

ASU offering up the 14,000-seat arena (at no cost) was a bit of a surprise considering the history.

For those unfamiliar with the past between universities and Kirk, we’ll fill you in.

Health, wealth and a whole lotta disagreement

One of Kirk’s most prominent ASU events took place in early 2023 with fellow conservative influencers Dennis Prager of PragerU and personal finance guru Robert Kiyosaki.

The trio’s “Health, Wealth and Happiness” event was sponsored by a (now defunct) center at ASU’s honors college called the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development.

But more than 35 of the 47 honors college faculty members condemned the event, kicking off a months-long battle over free speech on campus.

"Dennis Prager and Charlie Kirk are purveyors of hate who have publicly attacked women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, as well as the institutions of our democracy, including our public institutions of higher education," the faculty members wrote in a letter to their dean. "By platforming and legitimating their extreme anti-intellectual and anti-democratic views, Barrett will not be furthering the cause of democratic exchange at ASU, but undermining it in ways that could further marginalize the most vulnerable members of our community."

While faculty signed onto the letter, students led protests. The tension was palpable at the event (as Alysa saw first-hand), and several of the speakers called out the resistance to the event, and specifically the Barrett professors who signed the petition.

“See that, President Crow? You’ve created a Stalinist enterprise where you can’t be a conservative at Arizona State University," Kirk said during a subsequent Health, Wealth & Happiness 2.0 event.

Woke-guard on duty

Long before ASU faculty stirred up tension for Kirk’s “Health, Wealth and Happiness” event, Kirk had created a “Professor Watchlist.”

The online database names faculty deemed “radical.” All of the honors college faculty who signed the petition to Barrett Dean Tara Williams ended up on the “Professor Watchlist” website, which further strained the relationship between Kirk and parts of the university.

Even Crow, who has been known to play more of the peacekeeper, thought this went too far. Before the second “Health, Wealth & Happiness” event, Crow sent a letter to Kirk asking him to remove ASU faculty who signed the petition.

“I would like to request that you remove the ASU faculty members from the Professor Watchlist, as the only basis for their inclusion appears to be that they have expressed views with which you or your colleagues disagree," Crow said in the letter. “If you will not do so, please add me to the list.”

Crow talked a big game in supporting his staff by asking Kirk to add him to the list if he was unwilling to remove the other faculty. But as a proud advocate for the First Amendment, Crow did not prohibit the secondary event from happening. And he never got added to Turning Point's watchlist.

A push from Turning Point

The “Professor Watchlist” doesn’t advertise itself as a doxxing website, but it was hard to call it anything else after an ASU educator was a victim of “harassment and injury inflicted” by members of Turning Point.

In October 2023, instructor David Boyles was teaching a class called “LGBTQ+ Youth in Pop Culture and Politics.” One day after class, Boyles was followed by members of Turning Point USA who were persistently recording the instructor and confronting him about reasons he was on the watchlist, such as helping to develop Arizona's Drag Queen Story Hour.

“It is astounding to me that individuals from Turning Point USA would wait for an ASU instructor to come out of his class to follow him, harass him and ultimately shove him to the ground, bloodying his face," Crow wrote in an open letter to faculty. "(T)he incident we’ve all now witnessed on the video shows Turning Point’s refusal to stop dangerous practices that result in both physical and mental harm to ASU faculty members, which they then apparently exploit for fundraising, social media clicks and financial gain."

While Kirk regularly shared his criticisms about universities, the power he held in higher education — and the influence he held with a generation of ASU students — is nothing short of extraordinary.

The arena was full during the Monday vigil at ASU.

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Searching for a fix: Arizona’s education officials are hoping a new apprenticeship program in Maricopa County will help alleviate the state’s teacher shortage, AZFamily’s Steven Sarabia reports. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne lauded the program, while the Arizona Education Association worried about making sure teachers are properly trained and fairly paid.

“You act as an aide to a teacher, and in the process, you’re learning how to be a teacher. We think we’ll retain those people better because when they do become certified teachers, they’ll be better prepared,” Horne said.

Adding and subtracting: Arizona’s two tribal colleges are going to get a big funding boost after the Trump administration set aside $500 million nationwide for tribal colleges and historically Black colleges and universities, AZFamily’s Brian Petersheim Jr and the Associated Press reported. Diné College serves more than 1,300 students in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Tohono O’odham Community College serves more than 800 students in central and southern Arizona. The boost for tribal colleges came after the Trump administration cut $350 million in grants for colleges with large numbers of Hispanic students.

Doesn’t seem fair: The fact that public school teachers have to dip into their own pockets to buy school supplies while parents in the state’s school voucher program buy diamond rings and iPhones, doesn’t sit well with Deer Valley Unified School District Superintendent Curtis Finch, 12 News’ Craig Harris reports.

"Arizona has the most unusual (education) system in the nation. We have zero accountability," Finch said. "I think the taxpayers are now starting to figure out, like, 'Whoa, this is out of control.’"

Hot mic moment: Protesters called for Scottsdale Unified School District Board Member Carine Werner (who is also a state senator) to resign after she was heard calling a district employee “morbidly obese” at a board meeting, KJZZ’s Wayne Schutsky reports.

For 20 years, Helios Education Foundation has been a driving force in advancing educational opportunity in Arizona and Florida, investing more than $350 million in education programs and initiatives that have impacted more than 2 million students.

Education Forward Arizona is proud to be a trusted partner in this work, administering scholarships and advising for hundreds of Arizona students each year, while also advocating for policies that make higher education more accessible statewide.

This fall, Education Forward Arizona will host An InspirED Evening 2025, its annual celebration of changemakers and the transformative power of education.

At the event, Paul J. Luna, President and CEO of Helios Education Foundation, will be honored with the 2025 Luminary Award for his decades of leadership and commitment to equity in education, opportunity, and student success.

We invite you to join us in celebrating the power of partnership, leadership, and impact at An InspirED Evening on October 29.

The evening will highlight the stories of students, alumni, and partners whose lives have been transformed through education — and honor those who are helping shape a brighter future for Arizona.

To learn more about our partnership and how you can attend our An InspirED Evening event, check out our latest blog.

A pair of Arizona State University students used their data skills to help a shelter for at-risk women and teenage girls figure out where to focus its efforts.

Alexi Vogel and Sophia Ruger analyzed five years of data from the Hope Women’s Center to see how effectively the longstanding institution is serving people in need.

Their “location analysis” helped them pinpoint where demand for the center’s services is highest and where those services aren’t reaching people who need them.

Among the priorities they pointed to were better outreach in the West Valley and more investment in mobile locations, ASU News’ Dolores Tropiano reported.

“It has been a really insightful experience,” Vogel said. “Working in the nonprofit world after I graduate was something I had never even considered until now. It’s really great to feel like I'm making a positive impact in the world, especially with the work I do.”