ASU Farm

Our Mission

ASU Farm is dedicated to fostering a vibrant and inclusive community, cultivating character through sustainable practices, and educating students as whole people. We strive to reconnect people to the land, deepen our understanding of our interdependency with the natural world, and strengthen ecological relations. Our mission is to heal and enrich our relationships with each other and the environment, promoting a future of collective well-being, sustainability, and growth.

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About ASU Farm

The idea of ASU Farm originated in spring 2024 with a group of core ASU faculty members, staff, and Maya Dailey from Maya’s Farm in South Phoenix, which is approximately 6 miles southwest from ASU’s Tempe Campus. ASU Farm aims to realize ASU’s most recent design aspiration: Practice Principled Innovation. Principled Innovation (PI) places character and values at the center of decision-making and expresses ASU’s deep commitment to promote human flourishing within the communities we serve.

Six Focal Virtues

Environmental Stewardship

This virtue emphasizes the responsible management and care of resources entrusted to us, such as land, water, and biodiversity. Stewardship involves adopting sustainable practices to ensure that these resources are conserved and restored for future generations. It requires mindful action to minimize environmental impact while fostering ecological health and resilience. Effective stewardship also means being proactive in addressing environmental challenges and engaging in practices that enhance the well-being of ecosystems. By prioritizing sustainability and environmental responsibility, we uphold our role as caretakers of the natural world, ensuring that our actions support the long-term vitality and balance of the planet.

Care

Care is rooted in attentiveness and responsibility toward oneself, others, and the environment. It arises from acknowledging our interconnectedness within a network of relationships that includes both human and non-human entities, as well as natural systems. To embody care is to demonstrate respect and empathy towards members of one’s community, affirming one’s role as a responsible and integral part of the ecological whole. Our membership in this network carries with it the duties and responsibilities of caring for all our relations, reflecting our commitment to nurturing and sustaining these connections.

Strong Work Ethic

A strong work ethic is characterized by diligence, responsibility, and commitment to achieving excellence. Farming involves consistently putting in effort, maintaining a high standard of quality, and being dependable in fulfilling tasks and responsibilities. Individuals and communities with a strong work ethic are motivated by a sense of purpose and integrity, often going above and beyond to ensure their work is thorough and effective. They demonstrate perseverance, resilience, and a proactive attitude in the face of challenges. This virtue not only drives personal and professional growth but also fosters trust and respect among colleagues and contributes positively to the overall success of any endeavor.

Cooperation

Agriculture frequently involves collaboration towards shared goals, which enhances both collective well-being and operational effectiveness. This field fosters a strong sense of community among farmers, neighbors, and consumers, creating a network of mutual support. Farmers often work together, sharing valuable knowledge, resources, and best practices to improve their methods and outcomes. This cooperative spirit not only strengthens local bonds but also contributes significantly to local economies by providing essential food supplies and generating employment opportunities. Through their collaborative efforts, farmers help build resilient communities, support economic growth, and ensure the sustainability of agricultural practices, benefiting everyone involved.

Environmental Humility

Farming instills a sense of humility as individuals come to recognize their profound dependence on natural processes that lie beyond their control, such as weather patterns, soil fertility, and ecological dynamics. This awareness fosters a deep respect for the delicate balance of ecosystems and the interconnectedness of all living organisms. Farmers approach their work with humility, acknowledging that their success is intertwined with the health of the environment. By embracing this perspective, they remain mindful of the limits of their influence and the importance of nurturing and preserving the natural systems that sustain their livelihoods and the broader ecological community.

Adaptability

Successful farmers must exhibit adaptability by effectively responding to shifting conditions such as climate changes, market demands, and evolving regulatory requirements. This involves not only adjusting farming practices to accommodate new environmental realities but also embracing technological and methodological innovations. By staying informed and flexible, farmers can implement strategies that enhance their resilience to unforeseen challenges. They continuously seek to create and maintain ecological and social conditions that support sustainable agricultural practices and promote overall well-being. Through this proactive approach, they ensure the longevity and productivity of their operations while contributing positively to their communities and the environment.

Why ASU Farm?

A growing number of universities and colleges in the United States and beyond have begun to focus on the cultivation of character and virtue among undergraduates in universities and colleges. For example, there is the Oxford Character Project, Jubilee Center for Character and Virtues, The Program for Leadership and Character and The Human Flourishing Program. However, no one to our knowledge has proposed to establish a robust network of farms with the explicit mission to cultivate both plants and people. ASU Farm aims to fill this gap by creating shared space for the cultivation of civic, moral, and intellectual virtues among ASU students and community members.

This project aims to achieve a variety of goals that are consistent with PI, such as integrating this design aspiration into our various initiatives that will reach ASU’s faculty, staff and students; introducing faculty, staff and students to the PI framework; creating novel and experiential classes for ASU students that are designed to develop character, which results in individual and community flourishing.

Cultivate Character?

Many people know what it means to cultivate plants but what does it mean to cultivate character? Cultivating character is the intentional and continuous effort to develop and strengthen positive qualities – virtues – in individuals and communities. Cultivating character involves the deliberate practice of, for example, honesty, integrity, responsibility, empathy, perseverance, humility, that contribute to moral behavior and attitudes. Cultivating character goes beyond simply acquiring knowledge in the classroom; it focuses on building a strong moral and ethical foundation through practices over time.

This process of character formation often involves self-reflection, self-discipline, and a commitment to personal growth. It may also include learning from experiences, both positive and negative, and using them as opportunities for self-improvement. Cultivating character within the agricultural context, whether through plain speech or metaphorically, has been endorsed by many thinkers over millennia, including Confucius, Thomas Jefferson, and Wendell Berry.

What will ASU Farm look like?

ASU Farm will form a Community of Practice (CoP) that consists of the core ASU faculty members, staff, Student Farm Leaders, and Maya Dailey. For the first three years of this project, between 2024-2027, we plan to build a structure or shelter at Maya’s Farm where ASU faculty and community members can engage ASU students and community members in a wide range of pedagogical opportunities during the late fall and early spring.

Funding will be made available to ASU faculty members to develop and teach new Humanities Lab courses, some of which will take place at Maya’s Farm. Our CoP also plans to organize regular “Friends of the Farm” volunteer days for ASU students and community members, and host a regular Speaker Series on the cultivation of plants and character.