Funding for sponsored research tripled, and ASU recruited 10 faculty with prestigious national academy memberships, and one Nobel Laureate.
The number of National Merit Scholars rose from about a dozen to more than 500 and the Tempe campus became the largest in the United States in terms of enrollment.
During his five-year tenure as president, he strengthened the university in the areas ranging from student success to research capacity to campus expansion, and set all-time records in enrollment and graduation.
Freshman retention rates reached 80 percent and the number of National Merit Scholars increased from a handful to 38 during the 2010–2011 academic year.
All these efforts led the institution being named a Tier I school in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings for the first time in the university's history in 2010.