The journal is approaching 17, s now.

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But when he was in eighth grade a fire destroyed the barn. That's just the way it is. There is just none of that. Roen took part in committee meetings and events. In October when he and his wife, Maureen, had their first child, they began keeping a daily journal.

The attitude in the East Valley is summed up in this — and I didn't invent this — but if it isn't happening in the East Valley, it isn't happening. When he was in seventh grade, there were about 25 kids in the school. It helps to reinforce that notion of community. The PHX East Valley Partnership was founded in the early s by business, education, government and civic leaders to represent area interests. There is always something to do. She credits Roen, who served as her mentor through her graduation in and beyond.

Known for his cheerful hard work and willingness to help, duane roen steps down as dean — and colleagues share how he has made a difference

Arbors have filled in, and shade covers gravel pathways. Anyone who has ever worked on a farm knows what it entails: horticulture, animal husbandry, mechanical work, welding, carpentry, electrical work. Dean Duane Roen totes a refrigerator to a residence hall, something he does each move-in day.

He had everyone in stitches, and they learned so much from his presentation.

The campus turns 25 this fall. He's reminded us all he's not dying. At the University of Arizona, he had 12 appointments in a decade. Duane tells the best jokes — which are usually directed at himself! And I wanted to be like Joyce King — the way she treated students, the way she encouraged learning, the way she nurtured people.

He assumed he would do that for the rest of his life. Friday afternoon two o'clock ice cream social and everybody's there — faculty, staff, some students. You do that twice a day. While the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts is spread out over four campuses, the Polytechnic campus is small — about 5, students.

Duane Roen left in a family photo with his maternal great-grandmother, Anna Bystrom, and his sister, Linda, in the late summer of Roen drives the incoming dean, Joanna Grabski, on a tour of many of the College of Integrative Sciences and the Arts facilities on the Polytechnic campus April Roen speaks at the breakfast celebration of the 20th anniversary of ASU's Polytechnic campus on Sept.

I don't think anything of it. Roen worked in the shop and did some ing and sales on the side. The first time she worked with Roen was more than 20 years ago when she was doing a community outreach event for ASU Public Affairs.

I have long admired Duane the educator, but have held at even higher regard the heart and soul behind his work. Amy Trethaway is director of education and workforce for the city of Mesa. Roen will miss some parts of being dean and vice provost.

But administrative jobs always fell into his lap. University planner Anne Gazzaniga worked with him as the campus grew.

There's a lot of farm boy from Wisconsin who just works tirelessly, but the ASU charter is emblazoned in his heart. A month ago he was out in the heat helping to dig trenches and build habitats for burrowing owls on the edge of campus. Sighting quail and rabbits is not uncommon. When ASU acquired it, it looked like what it was: an abandoned Air Force base with crackled parking lots and piles of dirt. The desert landscaping has matured. Roen was always good at math and science, but his role models were all in letters.

Roen is proud of helping to nurture a sense of community at Poly, which he is characteristically modest about.

When the Thunderbird School of Global Management was at its original campus, Roen once hit all five in one day. There's no ivory tower that academia gets accused of a lot. Sometimes he has a competition with student workers to see who can carry up the most fridges. Every semester on move-in day, he carries dorm fridges upstairs. Roen gives high-fives to all the graduates as they exit from the College of Integrative Sciences and the Arts convocation on May 10,at Wells Fargo Arena.

Everybody should have that attitude about their communities. Roen almost died too. His father and grandfather had gone to the same school. I do a lot of family history writing workshops. When he came on board, the thinking was to give Duane some support at Poly.

His mentor was English Professor Nicholas Karolides. I've always kept that interest in writing. Off campus, people Roen has worked with in the community feel the same way. In college at University of Wisconsin — River Falls, he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in English teaching.

Really nothing stopped his desire to help move the Polytechnic campus forward, including a global pandemic. The College of Integrative Sciences and Arts is spread across four campuses.

He is the first to roll up his sleeves and lead by hard-working example. As a dean and professor he does a lot of writing, but he has written a lot more than typical administrative stuff — a dozen or so books and about articles.

Roen was one of four children who grew up on a dairy farm east of River Falls, in western Wisconsin. Since then it has won de awards. And they do ASU a little differently too. So I'm so glad that I always said yes to opportunities when they came along, because it would have been easier to say no. Rarely are calluses acquired in academic administration, but Roen brings some physicality to his roles. He went to school in a one-room country schoolhouse.

He was interested in writing when he was very young. They work with their hands, and he loves working with his hands too. Every day was like a family reunion. He loves the institution and what it's about and has been just a tremendous ambassador for the university. He met me at a. He still has pieces he wrote in second grade. A group of people in the community wanted an ASU professor to speak to their group at 6 a. A lot of the cattle died. I did one last night again, and I'll do more of them.

Lovely people to talk with, he says.

It lasts not much more than an hour. The pattern repeated itself wherever he went. Roen steps down at the end of this month from his administrative roles. Now go do that. His father decided to get out of farming and bought a Ford dealership. It's just the best experience I was a pretty good employee by the time I was 6 years old. On a dairy farm you bring the cows in, milk them, take them back out, and then clean the shed and equipment.

He will be missed!

Priorities:arizona state university & asu poly student priorities

But Karolides had such an influence on him that Roen went on to earn his PhD. He taught at the University of Minnesota. At the Polytechnic campus, he helped plan new buildings for the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. Education in Mesa is better because of Duane, and we thank him with all of our hearts. They had 60 head of cattle and milked In those days that was enough to make a living. Roen is the vice provost of the Polytechnic campus and the dean of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. And, notably, Duane never allows the prestige of his title to interfere with his ability to dig into the work.

Half of them were named Roen. It is obvious to most that he is a very caring individual who is the first to share credit for successful ASU Poly activities with his associates and community partners. How could you not want to work harder with a leader like him? And it's going to be more work, more headaches probably, but you're going to learn more and you're going to grow as a person.