In the Spotlight: Feb. 12, 2021

Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs

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  • Northern Arizona University was named to the 2021 Education A-list published by PR NEWS. The list spotlights the top 35 educational institutions advancing the careers of public relations and communication professionals in the United States.
  • The NAU Foundation received a gold award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The entry, titled, “Collective Commitment Drives Progress—NAU Foundation 2019 Annual Report,” was a 24-page publication delivered to Lumberjack donors that celebrated and honored a year of generosity and impact, bridging the gap between stewardship and communication.
  • Edith Copley, Regents’ professor of music and NAU’s choral director, was elected president-elect by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) to ensure Copley’s continued influence on choral music in America after her retirement from NAU. The ACDA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting excellence in the field of choral music through performance, composition, publication, research, teaching and advocacy.
  • Assistant professor of communication Jiun-Yi Tsai was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Online News Association to continue a study on culturally sensitive reporting of Indigenous people. Tsai has developed an intervention to challenge traditional news gathering practices and media narratives by giving voice to Indigenous citizen journalists’ situated perspectives. Tsai also co-authored the articles, “Discrimination and Well-Being Among Asians/Asian Americans During COVID-19: The Role of Social Media” in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, “Intergroup Contact, COVID-19 News Consumption, and the Moderating Role of Digital Media Trust on Prejudice Toward Asians in the United States: Cross-Sectional Study” and “Exploring the Role of Media Sources on COVID-19–Related Discrimination Experiences and Concerns Among Asian People in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey Study” both in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. The articles investigate social media use, COVID-linked discrimination and coping.
  • Christopher Scherpereel, professor in the W. A. Franke College of Business, will present his paper, “The Juice Capacity Game: An Excel Based Simulation” during the Association for Business Simulations and Experiential Learning 2021 Conference. The paper explores developments in operations management discipline and experiential exercises in curriculum from COVID-19 constraints.
  • Brian Boyd, Bilby Endowed Chair in the W. A. Franke College of Business, was ranked in the top 1 percent of business and management scholars worldwide. A research team at Stanford University identified the top 2 percent of scientists in a variety of disciplines based on a citation analysis with global focus published in their study, “World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University – Dr. John Loannidi and team.”
  • Sodexo chef Chris Mahler and the NAU Dining Services were featured in the article, “Why celebrating indigenous foods is delicious at Northern Arizona University” published in Food Management. The article discusses three food dishes and how the dining team works with the Office of Indigenous Student Success and the Native American Cultural Center to celebrate indigenous foods.
  • Peter Fulé, Regents’ professor in the School of Forestry, received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to carry out research in Morocco on the project, “Conservation and Outreach Partnership for Moroccan Forests.” The goal is to develop a new partnership for sharing research skills, developing new data and initiating follow-up proposals for the co-production of knowledge by managers and scientists.
  • Ira Allen, associate professor of English, co-edited a special issue of Rhetoric Review and published the lead essay, “Symposium: Rhetorical Witnessing in Global Contexts.” The symposium is relevant in the context of widespread loss and trauma associated with COVID-19. Allen also wrote the chapter titled, “Beginning Again: Jericho, Revolution, and Catastrophic Originalism” in the book Representations of Emancipation and Political Resistance in Science Fiction co-edited by Sean Parson, associate professor of politics and international affairs.
  • Ty Robinson, assistant professor of astronomy and planetary science, was a recipient of Research Corporation for Science Advancement’s 2021 Cottrell Scholar Award worth $100,000. Award proposals incorporate both science education and research. Cottrell Scholars become eligible to compete for additional levels of funding to further their academic careers.