The Odyssey Institute for Advanced and International Studies

Southern Arizona is a region of the United States comprising the southernmost portion of the State of Arizona. It sometimes goes by the name Gadsden or Baja Arizona, which means "Lower Arizona" in Spanish.

Perryville is a former unincorporated community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States located at the northeastern corner of what is now Perryville Road and Yuma Road in unincorporated Goodyear, Arizona. Perryville was established by Perry Carmean (1877–1980), an emigrant from Van Wert, Ohio who moved to Phoenix in 1922, renting a property at 809 West Jefferson according to voter registration records and working as a laborer according to the 1925 City Directory. He bought his first property at a homesite in the Phoenix area in the University Addition northwest of 7th Avenue and Van Buren on April, 1926, but did not stay long, purchasing the first lot of what would be named Perryville on August 25, 1926. He established a service station by July 1927 and listed his occupation in the 1930 US Census as a carpenter with other income. Carmean continued to buy and rent property, finally leasing the townsite in 1941 and selling it in 1945.Perryville grew slowly, eventually reaching a size of two acres at the time of its sale. At that point there were several cottages according to the 1946 topographical map but were demolished thereafter. A 30-space trailer park was built in 1969, the last property constructed on the settlement. The service station is still in business, a cafe was later converted to a used car dealership.

Verrado is a master-planned community located in the city of Buckeye, Arizona, approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of downtown Phoenix. The development, at the base of the White Tank Mountains, is the largest suburban community in Metropolitan Phoenix in which the concept of New Urbanism was utilized. It is planned to contain over 14,000 dwelling units at full build out. Verrado is a DMB Associates, Inc. development.

Sundance Towne Center is a regional shopping center by Vestar Development located south of Interstate 10 on the intersections of S. Watson Road and W. Yuma Road in the city of Buckeye, Arizona. The first phase of development opened in the spring of 2007. Major tenants include (as of May 2010): Lowe's (opened April 2007) PetSmart (opened July 2007) Wal-Mart SuperCenter (opened August 2007) OfficeMax (opened August 2007) (Closed)Smaller retail and restaurant tenants include (as of May 2010): AutoZone Brakes Plus Carl's Jr. (Opened in Spring/Summer 2010) Chipotle Mexican Grill Cracker Barrel El Pollo Loco Fantastic Sams GameStop Go Wireless (Verizon Wireless) Hula Hawaiian BBQ (Closed) Juice It Up! (Closed) KFC Leslie's Swimming Pool Supplies M&I Bank (Closed) Nationwide Vision Payless ShoeSource (Closed) Panda Express Papa John's Pizza Peter Piper Pizza Quiznos Sub (Closed) Planet Beach (Closed) Pretty Nails & Spa Sleep America (Closed) State Farm Insurance Sundance Dental Group Taco Bell Wells Fargo Wienerschnitzel (Closed) Wendy'sFormer tenants include (as of May 2010): Alltel (Closed due to acquisition by Verizon Wireless) Linens 'n Things (Closed due to corporate bankruptcy)

Liberty is a small populated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Phoenix and about 6 miles (10 kilometers) southeast of Buckeye. Liberty is located at the intersection of South Jackrabbit Trail and West Baseline Road. It is located entirely within Block 3017, Block Group 3, Census Tract 506.01, Maricopa County, Arizona, which had a population of 63 at the 2000 census.The original settlers named the location Altamount, the settlement soon became called Toothaker Place, after the first postmaster, Harriet Toothaker, who ran the post office out of her home. When the post office was relocated in 1901, it was renamed Liberty, and with it the community.Liberty is home to the Liberty Elementary School District headquarters, although the district itself has expanded out to include much of the surrounding areas of Buckeye and Goodyear. Liberty exists as a county island within the corporate boundaries of Buckeye. This precludes any possibility of incorporation for the community.

Verrado High School is a public high school in the Verrado community of Buckeye, Arizona, United States. Operated by the Agua Fria Union High School District, the school primarily serves the Verrado area and is the fourth school in the district. Construction on Verrado High School began in 2005. Designed by Orcutt/Winslow Partnership and developed by Adolfson and Peterson Construction, initial plans focused on an open design, particularly with regard to classrooms, and the school was built with technology in mind. The campus was designed as a green building, implementing measures in the design to reduce energy and water usage. Since 2006, various construction projects have been undertaken, including the development of a new field house in 2015. The school is two stories tall and 220,000 sq ft (20,000 m2), costing $40,519,900 to build. Verrado High School opened in 2006, with an inaugural class of 264. As of 2022, the school offers 17 Advanced Placement courses, 23 varsity sports, and various extracurricular activities to its 1,646 students. The school's demographics largely consist of Caucasian and Hispanic and Latino American students. Verrado is ranked 4,149th nationally by U.S. News and World Report, and 72nd in Arizona.

The Phoenix Trotting Park, was a horse racing track built in 1964 in Goodyear, Arizona, United States. It opened in 1965 and was run for about two and a half seasons. The large, futuristically designed structure gave an optimistic look for the 1960s. Originally planned to be built for a cost of about $3 million, the facility ended up costing around $10 million. One of the proprietors and visionaries behind the park was James Dunnigan, the renowned New York horse racing financier. Ivone Grassetto, head of Impressa Eugenio Grassetto of Padua, Italy designed the grandstand and the main racing strip. Associate architect was Victor Gruen Associates of Los Angeles. The construction of the facility was undertaken as a joint venture by Gilbert & Dolan Enterprises and E.L. Farmer Construction Company, Inc. Various incentives during the events that were held, such as free parking and admission did initially lead to decent attendance, including an opening day showing of 12,000 people. However, a variety of factors led to the inevitable closing of the track. The hot weather of the desert caused events to be uncomfortable to attendees. The location provided limited means to control rain, leading to floods that caused accessibility problems. The park is also located about 20 miles outside of Phoenix and was built long before any major roads made the area easily accessible to those in the city or its suburbs.Though closed in 1966, the 194-acre property had been continuously owned by either individuals or corporations/businesses. And with the exception of a brief use for a movie, the property had sat abandoned since its closure. As such, without any care, maintenance, or upkeep, the property showed its age. The main building of the park was used in the 1998 Charlie/Martin Sheen movie No Code of Conduct. Part of the feature involved a large explosion occurring at the track.In December 2015, the property was put on the market for $16.5 million. The structure was demolished in 2017.

Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville is one of 13 prison facilities operated by the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC). ASPC-Perryville is located in Goodyear, Arizona. ASPC-Perryville's Lumley Unit houses the female death row.In 1981, three units of the Perryville Complex, San Pedro, Santa Cruz, and San Juan (since renamed Lumley Unit), for minimum and medium custody male inmates was opened. In May 1982, Santa Maria Unit, for all custody levels of female inmates, began admitting inmates. ASPC-Perryville was converted to an all female facility in 2000. ASP-Yuma, a 250-bed adult male prison which opened in 1987 became a part of the Perryville Complex in October 1992 until November 1995 when it became its own prison complex Arizona State Prison Complex - Yuma. The Fourth of the housing units at ASPC-Perryville (previously San Juan) is named after Brent W. Lumley, an ADC correctional officer who was killed in the line of duty.ASPC-Perryville has an inmate capacity of approximately 4,382 in 8 housing units and 2 special use units at security levels 2, 3, 4 and 5. The ADC uses a score classification system to assess inmates appropriate custody and security level placement. The scores range from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest risk or need. ASPC-Perryville is a modern, mixed security prison.

Skyline Regional Park is an 8700-acre mountain preserve located in west-central Maricopa County, Arizona. The park is at the southern edge of the White Tank Mountains, within the arid Sonora Desert. The park is on a 25-year lease from BLM to the city of Buckeye, after which it reverts to the city.

Youngker High School (YHS) is a high school in Buckeye, Arizona under the jurisdiction of the Buckeye Union High School District. It opened its doors for the first freshman class in 2007. The school opened under the guidance of Principal Johnny Ray, who retired from education in May 2009. The district named the school after the Youngker family, who donated the land that the high school sits upon. Its roof sustained damage in the 2011 Phoenix dust storm, causing water damage to several classrooms. Debris shattered two windows.To accommodate unexpected growth, a former practice gym was converted into 12 classrooms for the 2022–23 school year.

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), also known as Maricopa Community Colleges, is a public community college district in Maricopa County, Arizona. Headquartered in Tempe, MCCCD is among the largest community college districts in the United States, serving more than 100,000 students each year in the Phoenix metropolitan area.The programs offered at MCCCD include those leading to a two-year associate degree and occupational certificates, as well as online classes and dual enrollment programs. The cost of tuition for Maricopa County residents is $85 per credit hour, as of the 2022–23 academic year.

Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and the most populous county in Arizona, and making Arizona one of the nation's most centralized states. The county seat is Phoenix, the state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States. Maricopa County is the central county of the Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Office of Management and Budget renamed the metropolitan area in September 2018. Previously, it was the Phoenix–Mesa–Glendale metropolitan area, and in 2000, that was changed to Phoenix–Mesa–Scottsdale. Maricopa County was named after the Maricopa people. Five Indian reservations are located in the county. The largest are the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community (east of Scottsdale) and the Gila River Indian Community (south of Chandler).