ASU, City of Chandler enjoy symbiotic relationship

In January 2011, after successfully regaining his mayoral role, Sen. Jay Tibshraeny began meeting with state university leaders about expanding their presence into the downtown area of Chandler, Arizona.

Today, both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona have an established presence there.

"I feel really good. ... I think we're on the right track," Tibshraeny said.

But it isn't only the Chandler community that is benefiting from the university presence; so are the students.

At the ASU Chandler Innovation Center, which grew out of a partnership between ASU's College of Technology and Innovation, the City of Chandler and the California-based company TechShop, university classes are taught every weekday.

Most of the classes taught at the center are within the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Among these classes is an honors section of Introduction to Engineering, taught by lecturer Benjamin Mertz.

"To expose our students to some of these advanced machines and techniques that are available here is top-notch," Mertz said.

At the beginning of the fall 2014 semester, it was announced that full-time ASU students were eligible for free membership to TechShop, with $100 in credit to use toward training workshops. Within a month of the announcement, more than 350 ASU students activated a TechShop membership.