- Two faculty members from the Department of English—Jim Fitzmaurice, professor, andAngela Hansen, assistant professor—have been awarded an Arizona Regents Reach Out grant for more than $100,000 from the Arizona Board of Regents for their proposal, “Current Shakespeare Scholarship and the Secondary Classroom.” The grant award is used to develop, produce, and enhance high quality distance learning projects.
- Mary McGroarty, professor in the Department of English, has edited volume 26 of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, published in October 2006. This volume includes 13 original research reviews by 21 authors addressing developments in European and other lingua franca languages, among them Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Quechua, Russian and Spanish, in addition to English.
- Three faculty members at NAU-Yuma—Pit Kolodinsky, associate professor of counseling,Peter Mangan, senior lecturer in psychology, and William Pederson, lecturer of social work—along with George Montopoli and Scott McLean of Arizona Western College, had their article, “The Career Fair as a Vehicle for Enhancing Occupational Self-Efficacy,” published in the December 2006 issue of the peer-review journal Professional Student Counseling. The article is the result of a collaborative effort to explore ways to improve the positive student impact of career and occupational fairs, such as the annual Arizona Western College Job Fair. The NAU/AWC partnership has received nationwide attention for its collaboration, effectiveness and involvement of faculty to improve student learning and success.
- Three faculty from the School of Communication participated in the National Communication Association’s annual convention in San Antonio, Texas Nov. 18.
- Director Mark Neumann presented two papers: “Critical Vehicles Crash the Scene: Spectacular Nature and Popular Spectacle at the Grand Canyon,” and “‘New ‘ DIY Media Technologies and the Legacy of the ‘Amateur.'”
- Professor Lea J. Parker was awarded a “Top Paper” designation by the Environmental Communication Commission of the National Communication Association for her research paper, “The Captain Planet Television Series: Connecting Audiences with Environmental Agendas, Issues and Actions.” She presented her paper at the conference.
- Professor Richard A. Parker organized a panel titled, “Which Landmark Precedents in Freedom of Expression will the new Supreme Court Overturn?” and presented his scholarly paper “End of Days: Flag Burning and the Supreme Court in the 21st Century.”
- Nancy Paxton, professor in the Department of English, has had her chapter “Renegotiating the Private and Public Divide: Rereading Rebecca West’s The Judge,” in Rebecca West Todaypublished in Nov. 2006.
