Harry Hengl, a longtime supporter of Northern Arizona University and a leading civic figure in Yuma, was awarded the Regents Award for Outstanding Service to Higher Education, the Arizona Board of Regents announced.
The award was established in 1996 to recognize Arizona citizens and organizations for providing exceptional service to higher education in Arizona. This year, Thomas Keating (nominated by the university of Arizona) and Julie Ann Wrigley (nominated by Arizona State University) also received the award.
“Mr. Hengl’s contribution to Northern Arizona University and higher education in Arizona is truly exceptional,” said Regent Mark Killian, who chaired the Regents’ Award nomination committee. “It is with respect and gratitude—for his years of leadership and service to NAU, for his decades-long career as an educator and for his outstanding record of service to the community of Yuma—that we honor him with the Regents’ Award.”
Hengl graduated from NAU before beginning a distinguished career as a high school educator. After his retirement, he moved into business and is the managing partner of Western Financial Partners, LLC, a mortgage purchasing company in Yuma that he co-founded in 1991.
An extensive record of service to NAU and Yuma demonstrates Hengl’s commitment to education and community. While promoting business and infrastructure growth in Yuma, Hengl also opened opportunities for local students to attend NAU. For 21 years, he has helped develop and organize the NAU Classic Golf Tournament, which provides scholarship funding for students to attend NAU in Flagstaff and Yuma. He is also active in PRISE, a federally funded grant program through NAU that trains Yuma-area students to become special education teachers.
“Harry Hengl exemplifies how one person can make a big difference in the lives of our students,” said NAU President John Haeger. “NAU is especially grateful for his work to strengthen the university’s ties to Yuma. This award is well deserved.”
Hengl is also a member of the NAU-Yuma Branch Campus Advisory Board, member and past president of the NAU International Alumni Association, co-chair of the statewide Coalition for Solutions through Higher Education, and a member of the Leadership Council for the College of Education at NAU in Flagstaff.
In 1996, Hengl was awarded the NAU Alumni Service Award, and in 2009 he received the Joe and Marie Rolle Spirit of NAU Award.