Jonathan Koppell is dean of Arizona State University’s College of Public Programs and director of ASU’s School of Public Affairs. Before participating in a panel on whether Phoenix is the next L.A., he sat down in the green room to talk about his cactus garden (half-finished), his pet snake (named Route 4), his singing style (enthusiastic) … and to do a little shameless self-promotion.
Q. What makes you mad?
A. I don’t get mad that much. … [Jets quarterback] Mark Sanchez.
Q. How long can you go without checking your email?
A. Not very long. It depends if my family is around to witness me checking my email or not.
Q. What do you eat for your last meal?
A. Some really good Indian food.
Q. Where would we find you at 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday?
A. In my half-completed cactus garden.
Q. What’s the last great book you read?
A. World Rule by Jonathan Koppell. I can’t think of an answer, so I’ll give you the self-promotional answer for lack of a better one.
Q. What do you find most surprising about Phoenix?
A. It has everything you’d want in a big city, just arranged horizontally instead of vertically.
Q. What are you keeping at home that you should have thrown out already?
A. Assorted nuts, screws, and bolts.
Q. Describe how you sing in one sentence-or one word.
A. Enthusiastically.
Q. Did you have any pets as a kid?
A. I had a snake named Route 4, in tribute to a New Jersey highway and the stripes on his back.
Q. If you could live in any historical period, which would you choose?
A. The time of the founding of the United States.
*Photo by Felipe Ruiz-Acosta.