“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.”- Marie Curie, first woman to win a Nobel Prize
As I reflect on my first eight months at NAU and in Flagstaff, it is heartwarming to live in a campus and local community that provides a supportive environment where we can provide an equitable post-secondary education to all of our students. It has also been great to meet people who care about our ability to engage in dialogue with humility and civility. NAU and Flagstaff have become a home for me, and that is in large part due to the great people that I have met on campus and in the local community.
During the month of March, we celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of women in our past, present and future. President Jimmy Carter issued the presidential proclamation for Women’s History Week in 1980, and in 1987 Congress passed legislation officially designating March as Women’s History Month.
This year, the theme for the month, which we are calling Women’s HerStory Month, is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” At NAU, we recognize the example of women who are committed to embracing everyone and excluding no one in accomplishing the goal of access and opportunity. We want our students to develop inclusive perspectives by hearing from different voices with different points of view as they continue to develop, and Women’s HerStory Month allows us to understand the importance of diversity of thought in preparing our students for growth and understanding in an ever-changing global society.
I encourage everyone to remember the many women, known and unknown, who have taken risks, made changes, led movements and sacrificed to make our world a place to engage in civic discourse and display humility in its purest form. NAU will host a series of events to honor women this month.
Always remember: we are better when we work together. Thank you for welcoming me into a great campus and community, and I look forward to working more with our campus and community collaborators.
Justin Mallett, Ed.D.
Vice President of Inclusive Excellence and Access