flowering pediocactus in a burned and bare forest

One tiny cactus could be key to understanding post-wildfire recovery

Campus & Community

Fighting fire with a strong foundation

Through pro bono athletic training work with the Flagstaff Fire Department’s Firefighter Recruit Academy, NAU faculty member Megan Mulready has already reduced injuries among local first responders. She hopes to build on that momentum by bringing her expertise to other fire and police departments across northern Arizona.

Collage created at the Story Lab. It shows a clock in a spiral, a silhouette sitting on a chair typing on a typewriter and a black cat.

Research & Academics

Building connections through storytelling

When we hear the word “lab,” we probably think of test tubes and fluorescent lights. But at one NAU lab, research is done through art and storytelling. The Social Science Community Engagement Story Lab builds community and collaboration while helping people share their experiences in meaningful ways.

Taylor Hartness and Tia Hatton

Research & Academics

Two NAU environmental science and policy master’s students receive national conservation scholarships

Northern Arizona University’s School of Earth and Sustainability and the Wyss Foundation have named environmental science and policy graduate students Taylor Hartness and Tia Hatton as 2026-2027 Wyss Conservation Scholars. Hartness and Hatton are pursuing interdisciplinary graduate studies to develop effective new approaches to today’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Research & Academics

flowering pediocactus in a burned and bare forest

One tiny cactus could be key to understanding post-wildfire recovery

The paradine plains cactus is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but it plays an important role in the Four Corners region’s ecosystem. In the wake of the White Sage Fire, NAU ecologist Clare Aslan is measuring the succulent’s resilience over a three-year period. Her findings could help ecologists and policymakers everywhere understand when to do boots-on-the-ground restoration work and when to let nature recover on its own.

Taylor Hartness and Tia Hatton

Two NAU environmental science and policy master’s students receive national conservation scholarships

Northern Arizona University’s School of Earth and Sustainability and the Wyss Foundation have named environmental science and policy graduate students Taylor Hartness and Tia Hatton as 2026-2027 Wyss Conservation Scholars. Hartness and Hatton are pursuing interdisciplinary graduate studies to develop effective new approaches to today’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Collage created at the Story Lab. It shows a clock in a spiral, a silhouette sitting on a chair typing on a typewriter and a black cat.

Building connections through storytelling

When we hear the word “lab,” we probably think of test tubes and fluorescent lights. But at one NAU lab, research is done through art and storytelling. The Social Science Community Engagement Story Lab builds community and collaboration while helping people share their experiences in meaningful ways.

Campus & Community

Fighting fire with a strong foundation

Through pro bono athletic training work with the Flagstaff Fire Department’s Firefighter Recruit Academy, NAU faculty member Megan Mulready has already reduced injuries among local first responders. She hopes to build on that momentum by bringing her expertise to other fire and police departments across northern Arizona.

Older adults doing crafts at a table and playing drums in a circle

Now open at NAU: A day club for seniors with cognitive challenges

The Flagstaff Adult Day Club, run by Arizona nonprofit Oakwood Creative Care and housed at NAU’s Institute for Human Development, provides stimulating activities for local residents with memory loss, a respite for caregivers and a living laboratory for NAU students and faculty who want to better understand memory and aging.

NAU staff posing on the steps of a building and throwing LJs

NAU celebrates record-breaking generosity on Giving Day 2026

For the fifth year in a row, NAU Giving Day set a fundraising record. Thanks to the generosity of our extended Lumberjack community, we raised a whopping $1,221,449 from 1,035 individual donors. Your incredible support will help NAU expand access to higher education, empower students and strengthen the future of the university. 

Lumberjack Features

Jacks in a Flash: Neal Galloway

How do you show the importance of interpersonal communication with art? Inspired by the geographical distance between loved ones, as well as the challenges people experienced during the COVID pandemic, Neal Galloway, associate teaching professor in the School of Art and Design, created a series of art pieces he hopes will do just that. In collaboration with associate teaching professor Barbara Ryan Gartin, he recently exhibited his work, “Tin Can Conversations: Wish You Were Here,” at ArtX, a three-day multimedia festival in Flagstaff.

A row of American flags in front of a white fence.

Remembering on Memorial Day

The Lady Sharks rugby team members pose in their blue and gold uniforms on a rugby field.

Club Spotlight: Lady Sharks Women’s Rugby

There's nothing scary about swimming with these fishes. The Lady Sharks women's rugby team spends its academic year combining heart-pumping physical competition and heart-warming, often quirky, team building. Learn more about this thrilling contact sport and the women devoted to it.