InsideSeptember 2011

NAUCelebrating a Decade...

...Forging a Future

Adding another 10 years of success to NAU’s long legacyH igher education is changing so quickly that the Northern Arizona University you

attended a few decades ago—or even one decade ago—is not the same. A decade from today, it will be different still. Since 2001 when John Haeger was selected to be NAU’s 15th president, the university has seen tremendous growth: in its student population, in its research agenda and in distance programming. New construction has provided a much-needed makeover for a large portion the 735-acre Flagstaff campus and brought access and affordability to students across Arizona. NAU also has introduced groundbreaking initiatives such as the Pledge fixed-rate tuition plan and a bachelor’s degree in as little as three years at NAU-Yavapai. Throughout all the changes, the tradition and values of Northern Arizona University have continued to make a difference in the lives of students, alumni and friends. All the strides, all the progress have come in the face of unprecedented budget restrictions and a changing climate for higher education funding that has effectively turned NAU into a semi-public institution. The university is relying on enhanced partnerships, innovation, efficiency and collaboration to succeed. The Arizona Board of Regents has charged NAU with ambitious goals to attain by 2020. The 2020 Vision plan calls for Arizona’s universities to double the number of baccalaureate degrees within nine years, with NAU hosting 25,000 students on its Flagstaff campus alone. To attain these important goals, the university must continue to respond quickly to what the state needs. One example is NAU’s expansion of heath professions education, which soon will include a physician assistant program in downtown Phoenix. NAU also is boosting its science, technology, engineering and math fields offerings. As the university looks forward, this publication will look back on the some of the achievements that were reached during John Haeger’s decade of leadership. Share your thoughts and successes at inside@nau.edu.

Inside NAU is published by the NAU Office of Public Affairs for faculty, staff and friends of Northern Arizona University. Publisher: John Haeger, president; Public Affairs: Tom Bauer, Cynthia Brown,

Eric Dieterle, Tracie Hansen; Office Manager: Isa Rueda. www.nau.edu/insidenau

NAU-Yavapai opened its Prescott Valley doors last fall, allowing students to earn bachelor’s degrees at about one-third the cost of a traditional, residential college experience.

NAU’s Tuition G

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NAU has honored the tuition pledge it first made in 2008: That for each incoming undergraduate student, the same tuition rate will be guaranteed for four years.

In this issue: Build it better p. 4 Arizona’s university p. 5

Moving the world forward p. 6 Commitment to quality p. 8

Affordability remains the focus

WHIle headlines abound about the cost of a college education today, the bottom line at Northern

Arizona University remains focused on affordability. To bring some stability to a rapidly changing budget landscape, NAU has honored the tuition pledge it first made in 2008: That for each incoming undergraduate student, the same tuition rate will be guaranteed for four years. The challenge of sticking to that commitment has been met with resolve by the university administration. As President John Haeger has said, “We understand the value of predictability for students and parents planning their future.” Not only have students and parents cited the pledge as a motivating factor for choosing NAU, but the program also serves as an incentive for students to complete their degree in four years.

The Flagstaff campus, though, is not the only avenue to affordability for aspiring students.

NAU is a university that reaches out to the entire state through Extended Campuses. Students at NAU-Yuma and numerous other locations typically pay a lower tuition rate—at NAU-Yavapai, about one-third less than students at the main campus. The approach underlies NAU’s effort to increase access to higher education in the state, and the cost-

reduction strategy benefits more than 7,500 students each year.

PUblIc -private partnerships and alternative revenue streams have become the

catchphrases of a university reinventing itself to keep pace with increasing enrollment while facing budget constraints. In the words of President John Haeger, NAU is evolving into a semi-public institution, meaning a greater focus on creative funding solutions and less reliance on state support. And it means striving for efficiencies at every level.

Collaborative partnerships have been key to these efforts. One visible example caps the north end of campus. Bringing the High Country Conference Center to Flagstaff involved university partnerships with the city and with Drury Hotels, while the NAU Foundation and Sodexo teamed to create the 1899 Bar & Grill restaurant in the historic North Union. Economic benefits aside, the projects also contribute to the university’s reputation and educational mission, with the facilities serving

as a hands-on learning environment for students in NAU’s highly regarded School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. On the research front, a partnership between Translational Genomics Research Institute and NAU brought a pathogen genomics and biodefense facility to Flagstaff in 2007. One year later, NAU partnered with the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies to support the creation of successful science- and technology-based companies in northern Arizona.

Even a popular annual event, the Arizona Cardinals training camp, is the result of a partnership dating back to 1988. An agreement between NAU and the Cardinals that runs through the 2012 season ensures that Flagstaff will experience an influx of visitors and spending each August. One report showed the 2010 camp contributed nearly $7 million to the local economy.

collaborations, partnerships provide economic impactIF the culture of a campus reflects the values

of the university, then a commitment to sustainability is deeply rooted at NAU. The university’s approach to sustainability is outlined in its strategic plan, but its actions show how the theme has permeated research, teaching and campus life. Recognition for all this progress has come on a national scale, most notably from the Princeton Review. For the past two years, the publication’s guide to green colleges included NAU on its list of colleges noted for sustainability. Of course, the work to earn that recognition began years ago. NAU established itself as a national voice in the ongoing climate change dialogue when President John Haeger became a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, effectively committing the university to addressing climate, social, economic and environmental sustainability. The university has honored that commitment by producing some of the highest-rated buildings under the Leadership Energy and Environment Design building system from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Applied Research and Development building is in fact one of the “greenest” buildings in the world. NAU’s curriculum also has undergone changes. A new School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability integrates a streamlined approach for students to pursue environmental careers. The move is producing a new generation of interdisciplinary graduates, generating new research opportunities across traditional disciplines and offering policymakers valuable insights from an academic perspective. NAU’s Climate Action Plan ensures the university remains on course to achieving President Haeger’s call for carbon neutrality by 2020. The plan reinforces a pervasive, meaningful approach that adheres to the principles of sustainability, even as the university continues to grow and expand.

cultivating a culture of sustainability

NAU’s latest major public-private partnership, with American Campus Communities, includes a $65 million private investment in which the company will build and maintain

two on-campus residence halls that will accommodate more than 1,100 students.

The 1899 Bar & Grill recently was named one of Arizona’s 10 Best New Restaurants by ‘Phoenix Home and Garden’ magazine.

The High Country Conference Center offers a place “Where Work Meets Wonderful,” as its slogan touts, and provides a hefty impact to the local economy.

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ExPANDING into the future

A defining aspect of the past decade at Northern Arizona University is the physical transformation of a campus charged with maintaining rapid enrollment growth and improving university productivity. With a record 25,000 students now attending

NAU—more than 17,000 of whom attend on NAU’s flagship Mountain Campus—President Haeger has aggressively led the charge to accommodate 30,000 students statewide by the year 2020, a goal set by the Arizona Board of Regents. To help meet that goal, dozens of new buildings have been added or renovated, both in Flagstaff as well as throughout the state, including an innovate new campus in Prescott Valley. Such growth is the result of careful and deliberate planning and a demonstrated commitment to sustainability. The Princeton Review even cited the university’s three LEED-certified buildings in 2009—since then it has added a fourth—calling NAU a “green building superstar.” GRoW

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By year’s end, 25 new or renovated facilities will have opened their doors in the last decade to provide students with a welcoming and sustainable learning environment. AC

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School of Hotel and Restaurant Management (2011)

Liberal Arts (2011)

Science Lab (2007)

Applied Research and Development (2007)

The W.A. Franke College of Business (2006)

Engineering (2006)

School of Communication(2004)

Gateway Student Success Center (2004)

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The spectacular new

Health and learning

Center will serve the

students’ needs for

decades to come.

Photo by dominick Washburn

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Aspen Crossing (2008)

McKay Village (2005)

Pine Ridge Village (2006) se

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Native American Cultural Center (2011)

Skydome renovation (2011)

Health and Learning Center (2011)

Mountain Link transit spine (2011)

1899 Bar & Grill (2011) PUBl

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d Two new public-private funded residence halls also are slated to open in 2012 to accommodate an additional 1,100 students. The projects also include a community center, a parking structure and retail space. ex

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Extended Campuses (2009)

NAU-Yavapai (2009)

James R. Carruthers Research and Education building at NAU-Yuma (2009)

NAU-North Valley (2007)

NAU-Tucson (north) (2006)

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South campus recreational fields (2009)

High Country Conference Center, Drury Hotel and Parking Garage (2008)

University Union expansion (2008)

Bookstore renovation (2007)

Central Campus parking structure (2006)

Northern Arizona University President John Haeger is

leading the charge to fundamentally change the way college-bound student populations gain access to higher education amid shrinking state budgets. NAU has been at the forefront of distance learning initiatives for several decades. From its modest start in Yuma, NAU’s distance programs have grown to nearly three dozen sites across Arizona, now educating nearly a third of the university’s current students. In 2008, NAU-Yuma celebrated its 25th anniversary, shortly after being named a “branch campus”

and a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution. Both labels made the campus eligible for increased funding that allow it to better serve its students and faculty. Some of the university’s most pioneering alternatives to the traditional four-year college experience also have emerged under Haeger’s watch. “Our Flagstaff campus stands tall as the university’s flagship location,” Haeger says, “but our Extended Campus offerings, including innovative initiatives like those in Yuma and Prescott Valley, are changing the face of higher education.” NAU-Yavapai opened its Prescott Valley doors last fall, allowing students to earn bachelor’s degrees at about one-third the cost of a traditional, residential college experience. The savings comes from offering a limited number of degree options and using existing resources through NAU’s Flagstaff campus. The cost-saving model garnered the attention of Gov. Jan Brewer, who called it “visionary” and “an example for the entire state and the nation.” The Arizona Republic ran a front-page story on the unique

campus, calling it “the state’s boldest move yet to confront the problems of rapidly rising tuition and a shortage of residents with bachelor’s degrees.” Enrollment in NAU’s online courses has seen unprecedented growth over the past decade, with nearly 3,000 students now taking their NAU classes online each semester. Another well-received method for delivering affordable education to students has taken shape over the last several years and involves partnerships with 15 community colleges throughout the state. The initiative streamlines the credit transfer process, allowing students enrolled at partnering community

colleges to save time and money by being admitted to NAU while they are earning an associate degree. Advisers from both institutions work closely with students in these “2NAU” programs to ensure they are taking the right courses to seamlessly transfer to NAU and begin work on a bachelor’s degree after completing their associate degree. Through varied education structures that appeal to different kinds of students, NAU has earned a reputation as “Arizona’s university” and is poised to meet the diverse needs of Arizona learners.

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Trailblazing new pathways to a college degree

A new facility in north Phoenix expanded NAU’s reach in the Valley.

NAU-Yuma was designated a branch campus in 2006.

WHIle NAU fulfills its mission to produce graduates

who will help move the world forward over the years to come, its faculty and students are conducting research that today is producing important ideas and life-changing results. The immediate relevance can be seen in a year when nearly 1 million acres of Arizona forests have burned, triggering a sense of urgency for the longstanding efforts of NAU’s Ecological Restoration Institute and its director, forest ecologist Wally Covington. He and other NAU forest scientists have convincingly shown that about 180 million acres of ponderosa pine across the West are at risk, punctuating what he calls an “urgent need” to restore forests to their most resilient condition by “protecting the old growth trees and thinning most of the small diameter trees.” In the emerging frontier of genomics research, Paul Keim has established himself as a leading

figure. A world-renowned expert in microbial forensics, this Regents’ Professor of biology and director for NAU’s Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics gained international attention during the FBI investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Keim has used the lessons of genomic analysis from that case to advance forensic science. This summer, he helped pinpoint the source of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that killed more than 6,000 people and sickened 300,000. In 2006, Keim and a team of scientists received a patent for a technique that could help control the spread of tuberculosis, the second-deadliest infectious disease among adults worldwide. And just

last year, he and fellow researchers used DNA fingerprinting to trace major plague pandemics such as the Black Death back to their roots. The work, he said, is “a model for our control of epidemic diseases such as salmonella, E. coli and influenza.” Other research at NAU has health implications, including multiple approaches to curing and preventing cancer. One of them, the Partnership for Native American Cancer prevention, seeks solutions to cancer disparities among Native Americans. On another front, biochemist Diane Stearns found that uranium could damage DNA as a heavy metal, independent of its radioactive properties—a finding with far-reaching implications for people living near abandoned mine tailings in the Four Corners area of the Southwest. In the area of climate change, NAU in 2005 became one of four national universities selected to host regional centers of the National Institute for Climatic Change Research.

Five years later, a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation put NAU in a leading role to increase public understanding of global climate change and help prepare the next generation of scientists and educators. NSF funding also has allowed NAU to focus its outreach effort on Native American and rural communities on the Colorado Plateau, targeting students who are historically underrepresented in science and math education.

Research spectrum demonstrates NAU’s varied impact

NAU’S RESEARCH LEADERSHIP in areas such as genomics, cancer prevention, climate change and forest health makes the university a valuable regional asset and draws worldwide attention to the work being done in its labs and in the field.

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NAU forest ecologists Mike stoddard, left, and Matthew Hurteau are concerned that ponderosa pine forests are not regenerating after unnaturally intense fires that burn through the treetops, like the Hochderffer fire, pictured above, that burned 16,000 acres 15 years ago.

Athletics remain integral part of college experience

A decade of success has brought national attention to tthe Flagstaff campus and NAU Athletics.

The department’s 2009 NCAA reaccreditation resulted in the assurance that the program operates with integrity and meets NCAA standards. It also has been recognized among the best in the Big Sky Conference and in its division. In 2006, NAU won the Sterling Savings Bank Presidents Cup for the

first time while posting eight Top 100 listings in the annual Directors’ Cup standings.

The past decade also brought six Big Sky championships, while the Lumberjacks won 10 individual national championships. The teams have reached new heights with stand-out seasons in football, track and field, cross country, men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, golf, swimming and diving, and tennis. Success continues off the field, too, with student-athletes regularly posting a 3.00 cumulative GPA.

NAU is named among the best colleges in the nation for Native Americans in Winds of Change magazine, a top institution for latinos in The Hispanic Outlook in Higher education magazine, and among the top institutions for graduating minority students in Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine.

successes by the score

S i n c e 2 0 0 1 780 Big sky All-Academic selections 36 Big sky championships 10 NCAA champions 9 Academic All-Americans 8 Top 100 director’s Cup finishes 2 Academic All-Americans of the Year

Global view of campus highlights central role of diversityA university needs students

to succeed, but it needs diversity to flourish. That has been the approach at Northern Arizona University, where measures of diversity go beyond mere demographics to include a deepening of the curriculum and an infusion of ideas and cultures on campus. Not that the numbers aren’t important. Steady growth in Hispanic and international students has literally changed the face of NAU over the past decade. Partnerships with Chinese universities are yielding a growing number of graduates. And NAU has continued its prominent role as a campus of choice for Native American students.

Beyond the numbers is a campus that has fully embraced global engagement. “Our students must live and work in a global environment,” NAU President John Haeger said in 2007, “and unless we make a campus that does the same, we are not fulfilling our mission.” In support of that mission, NAU formed a Task Force on Global Education to transform campus and prepare students to become globally competent graduates. By 2010, recommendations of a Global Learning subcommittee were adopted to engage all students in meaningful global learning experiences in the NAU curriculum.

Not only are global themes being infused into the curriculum, but efficiency is being enhanced in the process as departments reevaluate and discern how existing resources can be shared better across the university. While those changes will be seen mostly in the classroom, a more visible symbol of NAU’s commitment to diversity will open its doors in October: the Native American Cultural Center. The 12,540-square foot building in the heart of campus reflects the university’s commitment to Native American students and to helping others learn more about their cultures. The center will house activities that support student recruitment and retention, serving as a point of contact for Native groups on campus and programs involving NAU and the tribes.

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THe WoRld WAs WATCHiNG when runner Lopez Lomong was the flag bearer for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing, the first Lumberjack to represent the United States in the Olympics.

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a decade of growth and change at Northern Arizona

University, President John Haeger has remained focused on the institution’s core mission of providing Arizona students access to a high-quality education. Under his leadership, a number of initiatives and efforts have emerged and evolved, reinforcing NAU’s academic status and commitment to quality.

Perhaps most notably, the university received numerous accolades and a strong recommendation for continued accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In its comprehensive review of the university in 2008, the assessment team’s report offered “stunning” praise for the institution and affirmed that NAU is committed to student learning and student success. The commission also separately endorsed NAU’s online programs,

concluding that NAU exemplified best practices for electronically delivered educational programs. NAU’s Gateway Student Success Center was singled out in the review, as were its resources and advisement for students who are determining their education and career goals. “NAU demonstrates a remarkable commitment to student success,” the assessors wrote. An example of this commitment can be

seen in the center’s Grade Performance Status program, which gives faculty members an avenue for communicating important feedback to students and allows advisers to tailor outreach and support efforts throughout the academic year. In another initiative, psychology professor Michelle Miller, a nationally recognized course design expert, is helping lead the university’s progressive new effort to revamp dozens of first-year courses. NAU’s First-Year Learning Initiative seeks to make those critical early

“Students from Arizona, the Southwest and across the country are recognizing the quality that Northern Arizona University delivers, whether it is the best residential on-campus experience

or providing access at a distance to students where they live and work.” – JOHN HAEGER

classes more engaging and effective, ultimately leading to increased retention and graduation rates. There are significant implications tied to placing such a strong emphasis on programs that help

students be more successful and engaged learners. For one, students will be more likely to stay in the educational pipeline until graduation, which means they will be entering the workforce with the competitive skills they need. It also ensures that Arizona’s economy will benefit from a growing workforce of college graduates who will help solve real-world problems and contribute to the state’s economic recovery.

Providing the keys to success

nau.edu

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