Two students listening to a Lewis Center speaker series in a classroom

T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development

Lewis Center overview

The T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development (the “Lewis Center”) is a center of Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University.

The Lewis Center was established in 2019 to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of life. To accomplish this objective, the Lewis Center provides innovative courses, workshops, and an engaging speaker series focused on self-awareness (behaviors, values, strengths), personal values and character development, leadership and entrepreneurship, decision-making and risk-taking, career planning, success and happiness.

The Lewis Center’s programs and services are available exclusively for Barrett students at no additional cost beyond tuition and Barrett fees.

Innovative courses

The Lewis Center provides real-world courses on self-awareness (behaviors, values, strengths), leadership, career management, entrepreneurship, success and happiness. These innovative courses, which are open to all Barrett students, regardless of campus, year or major, offer honors credit, up to a total of 6 honors credits of the total 36 honors credits required for graduation from Barrett.

Programming guide

Through its courses, experiences, speaker series, and workshops, the Lewis Center educates students about the top personal development skills necessary to succeed in life. Download a copy of the Spring 2022 Program Guide to view the full calendar for the most recent semester, a Personal Development Guide, and Fall 2022 Lewis Center course offerings.

Download Program Guide

Staff and faculty

The Lewis Center is led by Executive Director Ann Atkinson, a Barrett alumna, entrepreneur and business owner, and former public company executive. Courses are taught primarily by Lewis Center PhD-level faculty who specialize in the course topics. The Lewis Center professional staff and student workers are dedicated to delivering best-in-class programming and helping Barrett students prepare for life after college.

Ann Atkinson, Executive Director
Dr. Janelle Kappes, Lewis Center Senior Lecturer
Dr. Thomas Martin, Lewis Center Faculty Fellow
Dr. Katherine O’Flaherty, Lewis Center Faculty Fellow
Alex Petrowski, Coordinator
Dr. Jessica Sturgess, Lewis Center Lecturer

For questions, please email us at lewiscenter@asu.edu.

Past speakers

Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers Outfielder (2006-2017) | 2nd round pick in the 2003 MLB draft | Sun Devil Baseball Alum
Robert Kiyosaki, Author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” – the #1 Personal Finance Book of All Time | Entrepreneur | Investor | CEO, Rich Dad Company
Courtney Klein, Co-Founder & CEO, Seedspot | Fellow, Edmund Hillary Fellowship | CEO, New Global Citizens | Barrett Alumna
Henry Lin, Sustainability-Focused Textile Disruptor I Early-Stage Venture Capitalist I Microsoft Executive I US Immigrant from Taiwan
Polo REO Tate, Author of DEEP DARK BLUE | Actor | Comedian | Air Force Veteran
Dr. Victor Trastek, Former CEO, Mayo Clinic Arizona

Past workshops

Personal Finance 101: An Undergraduate’s Guide to Budgeting, Saving, Debt, Credit & Taxes
Professional Presenting Intensive
Home Buying 101: An Experts Guide to Buying a Home, Simplified
How to Buy a Car Like a Professional Negotiator
Finding the Grad School For You
Professional Etiquette: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

T.W. Lewis Foundation

Tom Lewis is the founder, owner and CEO of the T.W. Lewis Company, a Phoenix, Arizona-based real estate investment company known for its quality and outstanding customer service in the homebuilding industry. T.W. Lewis Company, founded in 1991, has received numerous industry awards including America’s Best Builder in 1998 and the National Housing Quality Gold Award in 2009.

In 2000, Tom and his wife, Jan, formed the T.W. Lewis Foundation, which supports higher education, children and families in need, youth education and a variety of other community charities. The T.W. Lewis Foundation has provided college scholarships for more than 200 outstanding students to attend some of America’s best universities. In 2015, Tom and Jan made a gift to establish the Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky, and in 2017 made a gift to establish the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development at Barrett Honors College.

Jan Lewis and Tom Lewis of the T.W. Lewis Foundation

Solid Ground: A Foundation for Winning in Work and in Life

In his book Solid Ground, Tom Lewis offers both a road map and a compass for finding True North. Solid Ground: A Foundation for Winning in Work and In Life, by T.W. Lewis, is an integral part of the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development at Barrett, The Honors College.

All lives require roadmaps to move forward. Tom Lewis in his fantastic story, Solid Ground, outlines a journey for life that can inform us all. Resilient, adaptable, focused, sincere, committed – all concepts that are deeply reviewed and clearly articulated.

Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University

View photos from past events

Support the Lewis Center

The work of the T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development is made possible thanks to the generous support of our donors. Donations can be made to the Lewis Center account through the ASU Foundation link below. Thank you!

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