In the Spotlight: April 26, 2019

Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs

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  • The KNAU news team won three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism. The team won Best News Series for “Eats and Beats.” Individual awards were given to the following:
    • Melissa Sevigny, best writing: “Can Beer Save the Verde River?”
    • Aaron Granillo, best sports reporting: “Gear Girls”
  • English professor Laura Gray-Rosendale was awarded a silver medal in the 2019 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Education (Commentary/Theory) category for “Getting Personal: Teaching Personal Writing in the Digital Age.” The book explores how to use personal writing most effectively in various digital contexts.
  • NASA selected professor Scott Goetz of the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems to continue in his role as science team lead for the ABoVE (Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment) project for at least five more years. In this role, Goetz leads 680 science team members representing institutions from the U.S., Canada, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK who are involved in more than 100 projects studying the vulnerability and resilience of ecosystems and society to the changing environment.
  • A number of academic advisers presented at the Region 9 & 10 National Academic Advising Association Conference in Hawaii . The annual conference promotes and supports quality academic advising in institutions of high education to enhance educational development of students.
    • Sarah Friedmann and Kelly Weston presented “But I’ve always wanted to be a Doctor! Challenging First Year Exploratory Students to Go Beyond Their Preconceived Ideas About the Health Professions.” The paper focused on their experience teaching a course geared toward exploratory students interested in health care and guiding them through the process of finding a major that fits their academic and career goals.
    • Precilla Cox and Joseph Wright presented “Empowering Students Through the Power of the Internet,” which provided an overview of the creation of enrollment tutorial videos and the use of social media as a platform to communicate with students.
  • Northern Arizona University was included in a number of rankings:
    • Social Work Degree Guide named NAU one of the 15 Best Online Bachelor’s Degrees in Public Health for 2019. Ranking factors included student satisfaction, affordability, Alumni salaries, SAT scores and retention rates.
    • College Choice named NAU as a university where students can earn one of the Best Education Degrees. Factors included program affordability, quality, reputation and value as well as student satisfaction.
    • Animation Career Review ranked NAU No. 2 on its list of Top Graphic Design School Programs in Arizona. More than 700 schools were considered for academic reputation, admission selectivity, depth and breadth of program and value.
  • A number of faculty in the Physics and Astronomy Department had significant achievements recently:

Tallie Valverde