Students from the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences and the College of Arts and Letters will be honored beginning at 10 a.m. May 12. The College of Education will celebrate at 3 p.m. May 12.
 Arthur Carlson |
The ceremony for the College of Business Administration and the Consortium of Professional Schools will begin at 10 a.m. May 13. Graduates from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences start their ceremony at 3 p.m. May 13.
Arthur Carlson, retired senior vice president and manager of the trust division at Valley National Bank (now Bank One), will be speaker at the 10 a.m. May 12 ceremony. Lucy Popson, 2006 Arizona Teacher of the Year, will speak at 3 p.m. May 12.
Wayne Taylor Jr., former chairman of the Hopi Tribe, will be the featured speaker at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. May 13.
Carlson has had a distinguished career in business and has served on the NAU Foundation Board of Directors, the NAU Foundation Investment Committee, and the President’s Valley Board of Advisors. Carlson has served on numerous corporate boards and has been recognized by numerous organizations for his professional achievements, including by President Gerald R. Ford.
 Lucy Popson |
Popson has taught third grade at Walter Douglas Elementary for 11 years. She was nominated by her peers as Walter Douglas Teacher of the Year, and from there she went on to the district and state level competition.
In November Popson was named Arizona 2006 Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Educational Foundation.
She graduated from Pacific Union College in California where she earned both a master’s degree in education and a bachelor of science in liberal studies.
Wayne Taylor Jr. comes from the village of Shungopavi located on Second Mesa in the heart of the Hopi Reservation in northern Arizona where he continues to practice the cultural and religious practices of the Hopi people.
 Wayne Taylor Jr. |
Taylor was elected as chairman of the Hopi Tribe in 1997 and once again in 2001 for a total of eight years. Prior to that, Taylor served as Hopi Tribal vice chairman from 1994 to 1997.
During his political career, Taylor successfully secured federal appropriations to construct the Hopi Health Care Center and the First Mesa Elementary School, with additional funding for the construction of the Second Mesa Day School. Taylor was also instrumental in laying the groundwork for the planned community of Tawaovi on the Hopi Reservation that will include business centers, a tribal complex, schools and housing.