In the Spotlight: Jan. 10, 2014

Kudos to these faculty, staff and students

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  • Paul Lenze, politics and international affairs lecturer, recently was chosen to serve as a reviewer on the Boren International Awards selection panel. The Boren Awards provide institutional funding, fellowships and scholarships aimed at developing experts in languages and cultures of nations that are less commonly selected when American students choose to study abroad. Lenze was tapped to participate based on his expertise in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
  • Sam Minkler, associate professor of photography, had one of his images accompany a story that ran in the Arts and Lifestyle section of the Dec. 27 issue of the New York Times. His photograph of Karen Little Thunder ran alongside the article, “Indian Family Sees Its History in a Shirt,” which tells of the cultural property claim surrounding an elaborate hide shirt. Minkler is a contracted photographer for the Times. Recently, he’s also had photos run in “The Politics Blog” for Esquire and alongside an article for High Country News about the Peabody mine expansion.
  • Mandy Hansen, director of international admissions, recently joined colleagues from Rutgers University, Monterey Institute of International Studies and Knowledge Platform to launch the Institute of International Education pilot course in Myanmar. The course, “Connecting with the World: International Relations at Higher Education Institutions,” is offered to university and ministry officials to foster international education programs in Myanmar. Read about the program’s launch here.
  • Blase Scarnati and Michelle Miller of NAU’s University College published an invited article in the December issue of the Magna Publications newsletter Academic Leader. Titled  “Death of a Metaphor: Why You Should Never Talk to Faculty as if a University is a Business,” the article focuses on the down sides of corporate metaphors for academic endeavors.
  • Michael Sampson, dean of the College of Education, has been elected to the national board of directors of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.
  • NAU’s Model United Nations Club recently ranked in the top 75 teams in North America by Best Delegate, an organization that supports student and teacher efforts in global education. The Model UN teams were ranked based on performance at competitive conferences, and a full list is available here. NAU’s club will participate in a conference in Brussels, Belgium, in March.
  • NAU’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Management was recognized as offering one of the top 25 hospitality programs in the country. Create a Career made its selections based on academic quality, internship opportunities, facilities, reputation and rankings. A list of programs is available online.
  • Richard D. Quartaroli, the special collections librarian emeritus, compiled and published A Rendezvous of Grand Canyon Historians: Ideas, Arguments, and First-Person Accounts, Proceedings of the Third Grand Canyon History Symposium, January 2012. Comprised of 41 chapters by 39 authors, the presentations include those from the following topics: Ancestors; River; Roads and Trails; Native Americans and Tourism; Cowboys and Historians; Arrivals; Family; Explorations; Tourism; Events; Artists and Travelers; Management; plus a keynote address and an introduction by Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent. In addition, Quartaroli wrote a chapter: “Otis ‘Dock’ Marston: Dean of Colorado River Historians and Fastwater Boatmen.”