In the Spotlight: May 22, 2020

Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs

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Northern Arizona University was recognized for two of its online degree programs.
- com ranked NAU’s supply chain management degree No. 16 on The Best Online Supply Chain Management Degree Programs list. The ranking was decided after assessing 136 universities and comparing 442 education programs.
- College Consensus ranked NAU’s early childhood degree No. 17 on the Best Online Master’s Early Childhood Education Rankings were decided based on cost, reputation and the success rate of graduates.
Björn Krondorfer, director of NAU’s Martin-Springer Institute, was elected chair of the National Higher Education Leadership Consortium of Centers in Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Studies. The national group represents similar Holocaust studies groups at more than 100 colleges and universities across the continent.
In collaboration with Portland State University, Laura Bounds, associate dean of online and innovative initiatives; Flower Darby, assistant dean of online and innovative initiatives; Laurie Dickson, vice provost for teaching, learning design and assessment; John Masserini, vice provost for academic affairs; and Melissa Schoeffel, instructional designer won a Realizing Transformation Award at the annual Convening of the Frontier Set. This is a grant initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the award will support the development of professional learning opportunities that foster excellent online instruction and course design.
Darby also created an NAU version of “Thank-a-Prof,” which invites students to recognize instructors who have had a positive impact on their educational experience. Instructors are recognized for their kindness, support and exceptional teaching during the pandemic.
Josh Emery, associate professor of astronomy and planetary sciences, coauthored the article “Near-infrared observations of active asteroid (3200) Phaethon reveal no evidence for hydration.” The study involved rotationally resolved spectroscopic observations of Phaethon to search for evidence of hydration on its surface.
David Trilling, professor of astronomy and planetary sciences, and Andrew McNeill, postdoctoral scholar of astronomy and planetary sciences coauthored the paper “Recurrent Cometary Activity in Near-Earth Object (3552) Don Quixote” published in The Planetary Science Journal. The article reports observations of Don Quixote using the Spitzer Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes concluding Don Quixote is likely a weakly active comet.
Trilling, astronomy and planetary sciences alumna Cassandra Lejoly and doctoral student Annika Gustafsson coauthored the article titled “Systematic Characterization of and Search for Activity in Potentially Active Asteroids” in The Planetary Science Journal. The article reports on an observational campaign to characterize and monitor 75 dormant comets and six near-Sun asteroids.
Assistant professor of health sciences Olivia Lindly coauthored an article titled “An Exploration of Health Behaviors in a Mind-Body Resilience Intervention for Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities” published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The article describes health behaviors of parents with special needs children and assesses changes in parent behavior after a resilience intervention.
NAU men’s basketball assistant coach Tyler Ojanen was named one of the nation’s 50 Impactful Low Major Assistant Coaches by Silver Waves Media. He is noted for his loyalty to the team and his great eye for identifying winners who will help the NAU team contend for championships in the Big Sky Conference.