Kudos to these faculty, staff and students
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NAU’s Michael Vincent, Liz Grobsmith and Bjorn Krondorfer visited Ben Gurion University and took a field trip to a Bedouin village. This month an NAU delegation consisting of Liz Grobsmith, interim director of the Center for International Education, Michael Vincent, dean of the College of Arts and Letters, and Bjorn Krondorfer, director of NAU’s Martin-Springer Institute, visited Ben Gurion University in Israel to explore a future partnership between NAU’s Martin-Springer Institute and BGU’s Martin-Springer Center for Conflict Studies. NAU’s group met with BGU’s President Rivka Cami, faculty members from various disciplines and had productive conversations with representatives of global health and social studies, social psychologists, archeologists, religious historians, and anthropologists. Located in desert environments, both universities emphasize global education and diversity, with a commitment to underserved communities and share research interests in sustainability and water resources.
- The NAU Wind for Schools program received a $23,000 grant from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory WINDExchange program. It will support undergraduates working with students, teachers and the community in wind energy education and through events including the FUSD STEM night. The program has worked with 39 schools and installed 18 wind turbines across the state, including three at STAR School, three at Kayenta JTED High School and three at Leupp Schools. The program’s total funding has reached nearly $800,000.
Navajo Elder Lorenzo Max, second from left, was one of the NAU hosts for the Indigenous Cultural Exchange. From left: Jacob Prehn, Lorenzo Max, Colin Lamont, Tristen Howard and Todd Fernando. A group from Australia and Tasmania is visiting Flagstaff and northern Arizona through Feb. 7 as part of the Indigenous Cultural and Educational Exchange. Organizers Chad Hamill, Sharon Doctor, Kathleen Frank, Lorenzo Max and Simon Chief planned events for the group, which includes 10 aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander students. Their itinerary includes time in the classroom with NAU faculty and students, sightseeing and a trip to the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. An NAU group participated in the exchange this past year.
- Nancy Wonders, professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, has co-authored an article entitled “Gendering Climate Change: A Feminist Criminological Perspective.” The article found in the peer-reviewed journal Critical Criminology was the basis of an invited presentation at the International Crime Justice and Social Democracy conference in Brisbane, Australia last July.
- Ricardo Guthrie, associate professor of Ethnic Studies, recently published a chapter, “The Real Ghosts in the Machine: Afrofuturism and the Haunting of Racial Space,” in Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness. The chapter examines “Afro-futurist” responses to documentary and science fiction films which depict urban America as sites of decay and degradation—reflecting racial fears projected onto futurist landscapes.
- The Mayo Clinic’s Office of Health Disparities Research has chosen Tommy Rock, doctoral candidate in the School of Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability and investigator in the Center for American Indian Resilience, as the Native American Interest Group’s February speaker. Rock, a member of the Navajo Nation, will present “Environmental Health: Contamination Issues on the Navajo Nation” at noon Tuesday, Feb. 2. The presentation is open to the public and guests can call-in or view online. Information can be found here.
The Center for International Education hosted a group of students and faculty members from Chungnam National University in Korea. While at NAU, the group developed their English proficiency in academic settings and gained an understanding of U.S. history, politics and culture, said Eric Deschamps, director of Education Abroad.
The Center for International Education hosted a group of students and faculty members from Chungnam National University in Korea. While at NAU, the group developed their English proficiency in academic settings and gained an understanding of U.S. history, politics and culture, said Eric Deschamps, director of Education Abroad.