Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University, opened a new nine-acre campus this fall that offers housing, classrooms, faculty offices, dining hall and fitness center. It is the first comprehensive four-year residential honors college in the United States, offering key student services in one location.

Samiah Khan, a community assistant at Barrett, the Honors College, puts up bulletin board materials to welcome the incoming residents to Sage Hall, one of the residence halls in Arizona State University's newest facility. Khan is a sophomore majoring in finance from Phoenix.

Vehicles line up to drop off students’ belongings on move-in day this fall at Barrett, the Honors College. Assistants unload cars and whisk the gear to students’ assigned rooms, to facilitate moving in 1,700 residents over two days.

Addie Hill, of Tucson, Ariz., a sophomore in global studies and sustainability, helps with the move-in of freshmen at Barrett, the Honors College. Hill lives in Barrett’s Sustainability House community, where students monitor their energy, tend an organic garden, maintain a green roof and use recycled gray water.

James Lindsay, a freshman bioengineering major from Rochester Hills, Mich., gets some organization assistance from his mother, Cindy Lindsay, as he moves into his room in Cereus Hall. The living accommodations in Barrett’s seven halls range from singles and two-bedroom doubles to suites with three or four bedrooms.

Dean Mark Jacobs greets parents of new students at Barrett, The Honors College. Jacobs sought student input when he began planning the campus six years ago, at the request of Arizona State University President Michael Crow. Students served on the design committee with architects.

At the center of the Barrett campus is the Great Court, with an outdoor fireplace and space for performances and recreation. Though studded with desert trees and bright bougainvillea, the courtyard was inspired by Harvard Yard. The campus is built around six courtyards, one with a sand volleyball court.

Chantel Lawrence, a freshman vocal performance major from Flint, Mich. (right) and Tracie Smith, a freshman mechanical engineering major from Phoenix, have a stir fry prepared just for them in the dining facility at Barrett, the Honors College.

Students enjoy a wide menu in the Barrett dining facility, which has nine serving stations including salad bar, stir fry station, pizza oven and grill—and on Friday nights, a sushi bar. The facility features sustainable dining, with organic produce and food grown and harvested within 150 miles.

William Lee, a sophomore industrial design major (from left); Jeffrey Tsao, computer information systems sophomore from Glendale, Ariz.; and Kyle Irimata, math sophomore from Peoria, Ariz., have a snack in the refectory of the new Barrett campus at Arizona State University in Tempe.

Orde Kittrie, professor of law, teaches undergraduates at Barrett, The Honors College. Small classes, special seminars and lectures, and interaction with faculty are a key to the college’s success. The campus has 12 classrooms, where Barrett faculty teach freshman humanities and professors from across campus teach selected courses.

In the upstairs lounge at Barrett, the Honors College, bioengineering student Jane Lacson of Peoria, Ariz., shows her elation at solving a physics equation. Other students hard at work with homework for Physics 131 are Joshua Beck of Mesa, Ariz.(left), mechanical engineering major; and Terry Kuzoff of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, aeronautical engineering major.

Jenna Lynne, a junior mechanical engineering major from Brookfield, Wisc., heads back to her room from the Barrett dining facility. Students like being so close to meals, classes and faculty offices, plus they have access to all the resources offered at a major university like ASU.

Armed with an iced coffee, Channing Turner, a junior journalism major from Mesa, Ariz., digs into Plato as he also enjoys the solitude of a courtyard at Barrett, the Honors College.

A student at walks past the bike racks as he heads to class. Sustainability is a watchword at Barrett, the Honors College, where all the buildings meet LEED silver certification standards and students recycle avidly. They have only a short walk to board Phoenix’s metro light rail for a trip downtown.