Alumnus Ed Vasko offers multi-faceted support to New College

Good friends are good for our health, or so the research says. One could argue that this is true for organizations as well as people. If so, Ed Vasko is doing his part to help New College remain healthy and continue growing stronger for years to come.

New College grad Ed Vasko grew up in the West Valley and maintains strong ties with his alma mater.

Vasko, who describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur,” earned his bachelor’s degree in history through New College in 1995. In his 20-plus years in the information technology field, he has started five companies.

So what’s the connection between a history degree and the IT field? According to Vasko, the path to his bachelor’s degree served to strengthen his business skills. “My time studying history and other traditional liberal arts taught me to interact with people, gave me an understanding of the relevance of examining what has occurred so that the same mistakes are not made, and, more than anything else, provided me much better communication skills,” he explains.

Vasko puts those skills to use not only with his company, the technology consulting firm Terra Verde Services, but with the strong ties he has kept with New College and ASU’s West campus. He serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council, where he plays an important role in supporting Dean Elizabeth Langland’s priorities for New College. Vasko and his wife, Carolyn, have provided financial support to the NCUIRE (New College Undergraduate Inquiry and Research Experiences) program, and he has brought the first of what he hopes will be a long line of New College students into the fold as an intern with Terra Verde Services.

His involvement with the Dean’s Advisory Council dates back to 2002, when he and Carolyn came back to the Valley after a stint living in Boston. “My personal motivation for serving is to help the West campus in any way I can. I felt the Advisory Council presented a great way to stay in touch with the campus and give back,” he says.

“I am very grateful to Ed for the guidance he has provided New College and the support he has so generously given,” Langland says. “He is particularly effective because he embraces the liberal arts and sciences and recognizes their value in creating the leaders of the future, like himself.”

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