In the Spotlight: March 24, 2010

Kudos to these faculty, staff and students

Do you have a spotlight item to share with the NAU community?

E-mail your announcements to Inside@nau.edu, or use our online submission form.

  • Ricardo Guthrie, assistant professor of ethnic studies, presented a paper titled, “Orality and Racialized Embodiment in Toni Morrison’s novel Jazz, and Doug Atchison’s film Akeelah and the Bee,” at the National Council for Black Studies’ 34th annual conference, held in New Orleans March 17-20. Guthrie’s paper investigates how African American history and lived experience embody knowledge practices, learning and intelligence that can be articulated through popular culture. Using theoretical analyses of embodied cognition, Black Vernacular Culture, and assessing the “Zone of Proximal Development,” the paper suggests how visual and filmic texts can embody and promote strategies for achievement, success and harmony in racialized environments.
  • Jacqueline Vaughn, professor of politics and international affairs, coauthored with Hanna Cortner “Funding Fire: A Losing Proposition” in the California Journal of Politics and Policy.
  • Stephen Nuño, assistant professor of politics and international affairs, coauthored a brief that was brought into an Indiana State Supreme Court case on March 4. The case is League of Women voters v. Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, in which the league sued Rokita and sought a declaration that Indiana’s Voter Identification Law violates the Indiana Constitution. Nuño’s coauthored Amici can be found online.
  • AliciaPeArtwork by Alicia Pe, sophomore art education major, has been selected for an honorable mention in the fourth annual SchoolArts Artist Trading Card Contest. Artist trading cards are small, original artworks that are intended to be shared with other artists. More than 3,000 entries were submitted for the annual contest. Pe’s drawing of a colorful fish, called When I Grow Up…I Want to Be a Marine Life Researcher, will be on display at the National Art Education Association conference in Baltimore from April 14-18. View a PDF of all the winning submissions here.
  • wong
    Michelle Wong

    Michelle Wong, a senior at Northern Arizona University, is one of 10 college students nationwide selected to serve as a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars’ National Leadership Council for the 2010-11 academic year. The society awarded the council positions to students who display leadership qualities both at their local society chapter and in their on-campus activities. Society members apply for positions on the National Leadership Council and are evaluated based on their involvement in the society and their adherence to its values of scholarship, leadership and service. Wong is double-majoring in Spanish and biology with an emphasis in pre-health, and minoring in chemistry. She plans to attend medical school after college. She added Spanish as a major last year to become better able to communicate and help others in third-world, Spanish-speaking countries. As a member of the National Leadership Council, Wong will serve as a sounding board for the society’s staff, attend a local induction convocation and identify members’ needs on the NAU campus. She also will represent the society at national functions, such as its Leadership Summit and annual convention.