In the Spotlight: May 12, 2011

Kudos to these faculty, staff and students

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Tabitha Graves
Tabitha Graves
  • Kathleen McGeever, associate professor and chair of the Theater Department, received the Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Artist of the Year award for 2011. Phi Kappa Phi presents the award every other year, alternating it with the Faculty Scholar of the Year award.
  • Tabitha Graves, doctoral student in forest science, was awarded the $20,000 American Fellowship from the American Association of University Women and the $15,000 Philanthropic Education Organization Scholar Award. Graves’ research centers on spatial ecology of grizzly bears in northwestern Montana.
  • Navin Singh, doctoral student in curriculum and instruction, was selected for the Golden Key International Honor Society Graduate Scholar Award. The $10,000 premier scholarship award is given to students recognized as outstanding in academics, leadership and service. Singh has published multiple articles and book reviews, including several that he co-authored with faculty from the College of Education.
  • Doctoral students Jennifer Ginther, Jeff Kane, Jamie Lamit, Lucy Mullin and Robert Strahan each were awarded $7,000 scholarships by the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation for the 2011-12 academic year. The scholarships are awarded to graduate students in the fields of natural science, medicine, technology and engineering.
  • Northern Arizona University GEAR UP helped facilitate ACT’s EXPLORE educational assessment for more than 20,0000 eighth-graders across more than 130 Arizona schools in January.  This early college and career awareness initiative is aimed at under-resourced schools, and NAU worked in partnership with ACT to not only facilitate the mechanics of EXPLORE administration, but also to deliver professional development focused on interpreting results, preparing student education and career action plans, and supporting high school transition. An EXPLORE Summit is scheduled in June to provide a forum for reviewing aggregate EXPLORE data and to highlight best practices for benefiting students, parents and schools.

    NAU’s Society of Automotive Engineers student club
    NAU’s Society of Automotive Engineers student club poses with two vehicle prototypes they built to enter in Shell’s Eco-marathon last month. Pictured standing from left are Eric Neisen, Kamran Sheikh and Dan Aten. Seated, back row from left: Ignatius Goh Wae Fae, Seth Green, Tanya Gallagher, Mathew Daugherty and Paul Owen. Front row from left: Lucas Chavez-Pardini, Lauren Green and Nathan Croswell.
  • NAU’s Society of Automotive Engineers student club built two vehicles to compete in the Shell Eco-marathon last month in Houston. Each of the students’ vehicles competed in the prototype and urban concept categories. While NAU has competed in the prototype category for several years, this was the first year students had built a vehicle to compete in the urban concept category.