In the Spotlight: Jan. 24, 2020

Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs

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  • Associate professor of anthropology Jaime Awe was invited by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to present at the Shanghai Archaeology Forum, “Archaeology of Urbanization and Globalization: The Past for the Common Future of Humankind” in December. Awe’s presentation was titled, “Why Western-Style Urbanism Failed to Develop in the Maya Lowlands: A Western Belize Perspective.”
  • Melissa Sevigny with KNAU radio had several of her pieces featured with national news and has a few more on the horizon. Listen to “Glass Gem Corn: Poster Child For The Return To Heirloom Seeds” and “Teaching To Protect The Hopi Language” on NPR. Listen to “Studying Drought In An Enclosed Rainforest” on WBUR radio. She also was on Science Friday with Ira Flatow talking about the Biosphere 2.
  • The Institute for Human Development (IHD) was awarded a one-year grant totaling $99,996 from the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council to fund a pilot project focused on creating an inclusive environment on college campuses for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). IHD executive director Kelly Roberts will serve as principal investigator. IHD will partner with Coconino Community College to provide new opportunities of support and development for coaches and peers working with I/DD students that will expand the current resources available.
  • Assistant professor of sociology Jielu Lin received the Outstanding Publication Award from the American Sociological Association’s Section on Aging and the Life Course. The article, “From Noise to Signal: The Age and Social Patterning of Intra-Individual Variability in Late-Life Health,” was published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.
  • Andy Schrack Walters, professor of psychological sciences, received the Sexuality Educator Award from the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists at their 51st annual meeting. The association is devoted to the promotion of sexual health and advancements in sexuality counseling, therapy and education.
  • Associate professor of anthropology Lisa Hardy presented a webinar titled, “Telling Our Stories: Community Engagement through Collaborative Writing,” through the Office of Minority Health Research Center. The presentation benefited junior faculty and community-based organizations interested in authentic community collaboration.
  • Ryan Heinsius with KNAU radio had his work “’The Force Is With Our People’ Connects Indigenous Culture To A Galaxy Far Away” featured on NPR news. He looks at artist Duane Koyawena and engineer Joe Mastroianni’s new piece of artwork, Hopi R2, featured at the Museum of Northern Arizona.
  • Intelligent.com ranked Northern Arizona University No. 10 in its Top 60 Online Military Friendly Colleges list for 2020, citing NAU’s online programs as the best in the Southwest. It also ranked NAU’s master’s of education in educational technology as No. 4 in its Top 30 Master’s in Adult Education Learning Degree Programs list, saying a graduate with this degree will have more job opportunities and increased earning potential.
  • Meredith Heller, lecturer in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, published “Queer Drag: Redefining the Discourse of Gender Bending.” The book talks about the discourse of gender-bending and has received several significant endorsements that include Leila Rupp, a professor of feminist studies at UC Santa Barbara.
  • Anthropology lecturers Emily Dale and Chrissina Burke, along with senior Rachael O’Hara and master’s students Kelsey Gruntorad and Megan Laurich, represented the anthropology department at the Society for Historical Archaeology conference. They presented research on a collection from Post-War Flagstaff and on the archaeology of St. Michael’s Mission.
  • Accounting professors Nancy Wilburn and Bob Kilpatrick co-authored “A Mini-Course Approach to Incorporate IFRS into the Accounting Curriculum,” accepted for publication in the Journal of the Academy of Business Education. This paper comes as the result of Wilburn’s sabbatical where she developed a short course on the International Financial Reporting Standards, their differences from the U.S. standards and the best way to incorporate international standards into CPA exam-focused accounting curriculum in the U.S.
  • Assistant professor of physical therapy and athletic training Amit Kumar co-authored “Performance of the Functional Comorbidity Index (FCI) in prognostic models for risk adjustment in patients with back pain.” Risk adjustment methods are advanced for outpatient rehabilitation settings, using a promising alternative to traditional comorbidity indices to minimize bias when making research comparisons. The study uses a cohort of older adults with back pain using both self-reported functional status and complete electronic health record data to examine the ability of an FCI to predict function, health-related quality of life and overall health care use.
  • Postdoctoral scholar of astronomy and planetary sciences Maggie McAdam had her proposal to observe asteroid Psyche with the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) approved.
  • Ty Robinson, assistant professor in astronomy and planetary sciences, gave two presentations on HabEx and one on his work within the HABLab at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Hawaii. He also was selected as a Scialog Fellow under a call focused on signatures of life in the universe.