Kudos to these faculty, staff and students
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- Nick Stump, senior philosophy, politics and law major, and Brandon Rivera, senior political science and women and gender studies dual major, had a strong showing at two recent national debate tournaments hosted at NAU. The duo placed third at the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence and tied for fifth at the National Parliamentary Debate Association Tournament of Champions.
- Gretchen Knudson Gee, faculty adviser for the Model United Nations student club, took a group of eight students to the World MUN conference in Brussels, Belgium, where more than 2,000 university students from 60 countries took part in a week-long conference simulating the diplomatic workings of the United Nations. NAU students took the role of delegates from Lebanon on committees examining the issue of refugees, mental health, international banking and the use of drones. John Kelly, the club’s president, received an Outstanding Diplomacy Award, a prestigious honor that places him among the top 5 percent of delegates at the conference. The group toured the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, and gained insights on the workings of this significant institution.
- T. Mark Montoya, lecturer of ethnic studies, has been elected to the board of directors of the Association for Borderlands Studies for a 3-year term.
- James Wilce, anthropology professor, recently presented a paper co-authored with Janina Fenigsen, lecturer of anthropology, to the Department of Languages at Jyväskylä University in Finland. The paper, “Diverse Authenticities: A Peircean Semiotic Approach,” will appear later this year in Semiotic Inquiry. During the visit, Wilce also consulted with a group in Helsiniki that is leading a revival of the traditional practice of lament, which is keeping, weeping with words and melody.
- Erik Schiefer, assistant professor of geography, planning and recreation, recently published “Land use and climate change impacts on lake sedimentation rates in western Canada” in the new interdisciplinary journal Anthropocene. The paper examines how watershed impacts, including timber and energy extraction, in conjunction with climate change, have left a sedimentary signature across western Canada. The study integrates multiple land use impacts, including potential aquatic ecosystem and water quality degradation, over a wide swath of western North America. Read the study here.
- Matt A. Casado, hotel and restaurant management professor emeritus, has published the book Front Office Management in Hospitality Lodging Operations. The book is an instructional guide for higher education teachers and a resource for business professionals offering tools to stay competitive in the hospitality industry.
- Shari Miller, compliance manager in Extended Campuses, recently was recognized by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education as one of the Top Pro Bono Attorneys in Arizona. The award recognizes attorneys who give their time and expertise to assist residents who otherwise would not have access to legal resources. Miller will be honored at a luncheon presented by the Coconino Bar Association April 22.
The marketing team for Extended Campuses includes, from left, Amy Paul, Robert Gonzales, Tara Cobourn (on screen), Kaitlyn Wightman, Margo McClellan, Ann Marie deWees, Adam Wade and Drew Corkill. Northern Arizona University is one of eight colleges and universities recognized by University Business magazine’s Models of Efficiency program, which is sponsored by Higher One, a solutions provider for higher education business office operations. The Models of Efficiency program recognizes innovative approaches for streamlining higher education operations through improvements in technology or business processes. The latest honorees are featured on the University Business website. Northern Arizona University was honored for improving the efficiency and productivity of its NAU-Extended Campuses marketing team, resulting in a cost savings of 20 percent and increasing productivity by 400. Read more about the award here.
