A graduate at commencement

NAU honors Class of 2023 in two commencement ceremonies

Research & Academics

Capturing language, one conversation at a time

Between school papers, social media, texts, news reports, speeches, blogs and podcasts, Americans record billions of words in a year. But billions more are lost each year—the language we use in conversation among friends and family, to the grocery clerk or Uber driver and our walking partners. Researchers in the Applied Linguistics program are leading the creation of the largest-ever corpus of American English conversation, which could change what we understand about this most basic register of language.

Annie Watson and her husband and two boys at an NAU football game

Humans of NAU: Annie Watson

Annie Watson has been a teacher, a student, a writer, a poet, a mother, a hiker and so many other things. She's about to add one more—doctor—as the education professor defended her dissertation in November. Learn why she went back to school, how the Grand Canyon changed her life and her experience as a children’s book author.

Members of the forestry program stand in the forest with hard hats and chainsaws.

Research & Academics

Revolutionizing what we understand about America's forests

Researchers from the Ecological Restoration Institute and School of Forestry are part of a national effort to create consistent and accurate models to predict different aspects of forest health. The National Scale Volume Biomass models are an innovation in forest biometrics introduces advanced models for accurately predicting the size and carbon-storing capacity of American forests, playing a key role in combating climate change and guiding sustainable forest management efforts.

Research & Academics

Understanding homelessness in Arizona

The number of unhoused individuals in Arizona jumped almost 25 percent from between 2020 and 2022 as safe, affordable housing disappeared throughout the state. This is a thorny, multifaceted issue, and one that health sciences researcher Sara Shuman is tackling as part of a federal effort to better understand and address homelessness throughout the nation. With a focus on health equity, Shuman and her team will document the needs and experiences of people living in encampments and evaluate the strategies use to manage homeless encampments in Yuma, Pima and Maricopa counties.

Members of the forestry program stand in the forest with hard hats and chainsaws.

Revolutionizing what we understand about America's forests

Researchers from the Ecological Restoration Institute and School of Forestry are part of a national effort to create consistent and accurate models to predict different aspects of forest health. The National Scale Volume Biomass models are an innovation in forest biometrics introduces advanced models for accurately predicting the size and carbon-storing capacity of American forests, playing a key role in combating climate change and guiding sustainable forest management efforts.

Kristin Iott & Samantha Milewski – in front of the mural

How PAs are closing the healthcare gap in Arizona

Physician assistants have long played a critical role in healthcare, often filling in for the shortage of doctors in rural and underserved communities. A new grant to NAU's Physician Assistant Studies program is placing PA students directly in these communities for their clinic hours, helping to provide students with necessary training and patients in these areas with access to much-needed high-quality heathcare.

Campus & Community

A graduate at commencement

NAU honors Class of 2023 in two commencement ceremonies

Sharon Singer Doctor, the Homecoming dedicatee and director of student life experience in the Office of Indigenous Student Success, will speak at both ceremonies. Traffic patterns throughout campus will be affected, especially in the hour before and after each ceremony. Faculty and staff are encouraged to avoid traveling during those heavy use times (including approaching campus).

PT professor wins national teaching award

John Heick's road to healthcare began in third grade, when his mother fell off her bike and he rushed to help her. After time as an Air Force EMT, meeting his biological family and a lot of school, he became a physical therapist and a PT professor—a lifetime of experience that pays off in the classroom.

Snow

Stay in the know for snow

What to know when you wake up to a blanket of white on the ground.

Lumberjack Features

Ali Applin on a zipline with blue sky and forests in the background

Humans of NAU: Ali Applin

Every day at Ali Applin's job is different; it keeps things fun. Learn more about the director of community engagement's bucket list and what she really wanted to be when she grew up—and how she’s still keeping that childhood dream alive.

Annie Watson and her husband and two boys at an NAU football game

Humans of NAU: Annie Watson

Annie Watson has been a teacher, a student, a writer, a poet, a mother, a hiker and so many other things. She's about to add one more—doctor—as the education professor defended her dissertation in November. Learn why she went back to school, how the Grand Canyon changed her life and her experience as a children’s book author.

Matt Baxter and his partner, Emily, run during training.

Humans of NAU: Matt Baxter

Matt Baxter, a 2018 graduate and part of NAU’s cross country dynasty, co-authored Running Up the Mountain, released this fall, with former Lumberjack athlete and coach Ron Mann. He talks to The NAU Review about the book, his experiences as a Lumberjack and his life since graduating.