Introducing Conservation Futures Academy

ASU is building the Conservation Futures Academy — a global initiative to prepare professionals with the conservation skills needed to preserve our planet

ASU Conservation Futures Academy is a new initiative from Arizona State University designed to prepare people everywhere to lead at the intersection of conservation, community and planetary change.

This week at the Concordia Summit during Climate Week in New York, ASU President Michael Crow, alongside Rob Walton and Conservation International CEO Daniela Raik, announced a $115 million investment from the Rob Walton Foundation to launch the Rob Walton School of Conservation Futures. The largest gift in university history, it will establish ASU’s fifth school in the newly renamed Rob Walton College of Global Futures.

The school will help fill the global leadership gap by welcoming learners who reflect communities around the world — many of them practitioners and nontraditional students who are seeking executive education, career certificates and modern conservation skill building to expand their impact.

The new school will prepare a global conservation workforce through teaching, research and partnerships. Over time, it will grow to include undergraduate and graduate degrees, professional credentials and global collaborations. Employers, governments and communities will co-develop programs to equip diverse learners to meet the urgent challenge of conserving 30% of terrestrial and marine habitats by 2030.

As part of this work, ASU launched the Conservation Futures Academy — a global learning initiative designed to equip professionals with the leadership, systems and applied skills needed to advance conservation outcomes. Our current offerings (with more launching soon) include:

Microcredentials

▪️ The Future of Conservation Leadership — practical tools for coalition-building and policy influence.

▪️ Conservation Technology: AI, Drones and GIS — applied training in advanced tools shaping biodiversity protection.

Executive Education

▪️ Indigenous Conservation Collaborations — stewardship rooted in Indigenous knowledge and community partnerships.

▪️ Embedding Conservation in Business Strategy — turn the principles of conservation into a strategic advantage — and drive measurable impact.

The Conservation Futures Academy and School of Conservation overall will continue to grow, adding undergraduate and graduate degrees, more professional credentials and global collaborations. Employers, governments and communities will co-develop programs to equip diverse learners to meet the urgent challenge of conserving 30% of terrestrial and marine habitats by 2030.

“It is a worthy honor for all that Rob has done,” Crow said. “His longstanding support has been critically important to ASU’s leadership and growth in sustainability. He shares our institutional belief that there is an urgent need to tackle the challenges facing our planet — as well as an unbelievable opportunity to find new solutions by dedicating our time, creativity and resources to the task.”

ASU’s Learning Enterprise is contributing to the design of future offerings and is also present at Climate Week in New York to help shape global conversations on the future of conservation. Marco Serrato, Patrick Rossol-Allison, Lukas Wenrick and Orlando Cazarez are representing ASU’s Learning Enterprise, with Serrato speaking on a panel hosted by the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. The discussion explored how systems-based approaches, rooted in science and culture, are reshaping conservation and preparing the next generation of leaders.

“We are honored to support this initiative to create a global conservation workforce,” Serrato said. “Through our collaboration with the new school, we can connect science, culture and learning in ways that prepare more people to step into conservation roles and engage conservation as a key part of learning at every stage of life. The leaders we train today will shape solutions the planet urgently needs.”