The Shand Garden: collaborating to create a shared future

The mystery behind a flightless beetle's transatlantic journey

Grey Gustafson, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, discovered through DNA sequencing that the ancestors of some of today’s tiger beetles existed in South America and Africa before the two continents separated. What’s more, North America’s largest tiger beetles are related to these ancestral South American giant tiger beetles.  

Grand Canyon Semester students lend a helping hand on the North Rim

As the 2026-27 year kicked off, students in the unique Honors College program Grand Canyon Semester spent two full days at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon clearing barbed wire that had been burned by the Dragon Bravo Fire. Their work didn’t just benefit public lands and wildlife—it also gave them crucial hands-on experience that could serve them well in their outdoor-focused careers.

The Shand Garden: collaborating to create a shared future

The School of Hotel and Restaurant Management and the College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences are teaming up to transform an old campus garden into a live classroom. This collaboration will cultivate more than crops: It is a growing opportunity for students to conduct research, grow food for a farm-to-table program and gain hands-on skills that could open doors to employment.

The transfer experience: how NAU helps students adjust

Transferring from a two-year college to a four-year university is an exciting milestone, but the transition can also come with challenges. From adjusting to a new campus and meeting academic expectations to finding a sense of belonging, transfer students often face a different college experience than students who started at a university as freshmen. Meet three transfer students from NAU and learn about the programs that help them.

Drama by design

To celebrate a 20-year collaboration between the Department of Theatre and the VisualDESIGNLab, the School of Communication Gallery is showcasing a visual record of theater production posters from the past two decades in the exhibition “The Long Road Together.” 

From desk to community: Growing connections and making an impact

NAU staff Rachel Kanyur and Lydia Nelson, continue to find ways to give back to the Flagstaff community through Axe of Service. With four months left in the calendar year, why not join them?

Jacks in a Flash: Bobby Long

Bobby Long, associate teaching professor of visual communication, spent two years capturing details of the inhabitants of the Sonoran Desert after being contacted by author, ecologist and ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan to illustrate the book he was writing. The NAU Review asked him a few Qs ahead of the “Sonoran Desert Bestiary: A More-than-Nature History” book launch.

Jacks in a Flash: Michelle Carpenter

Michelle Bauer Carpenter, executive director of the School of Communication, recently directed the documentary "Making UNQUIET" which premiered at the Breckenridge Film Festival in Colorado. The NAU Review spoke with Carpenter about her experience creating this film available on PBS for International Mental Health Day, October 10th.

Here's why you should use alt text

Twitter users may not have noticed a change earlier this year—alt text is now allowed on the platform. Alt, or alternative text is used by people who use screen readers or other assistive technology to interact with their phones and computers; these programs "read" the photos. Including this text on your online photos can make a huge difference in the online experience of these and other users. Sean Kugler from NAU's Disability Resources explains in more detail why alt text is important, when to use it and what exactly you should be describing when you describe a photo.

The transfer experience: how NAU helps students adjust

Transferring from a two-year college to a four-year university is an exciting milestone, but the transition can also come with challenges. From adjusting to a new campus and meeting academic expectations to finding a sense of belonging, transfer students often face a different college experience than students who started at a university as freshmen. Meet three transfer students from NAU and learn about the programs that help them.

Drama by design

To celebrate a 20-year collaboration between the Department of Theatre and the VisualDESIGNLab, the School of Communication Gallery is showcasing a visual record of theater production posters from the past two decades in the exhibition “The Long Road Together.” 

The Shand Garden: collaborating to create a shared future

The School of Hotel and Restaurant Management and the College of Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences are teaming up to transform an old campus garden into a live classroom. This collaboration will cultivate more than crops: It is a growing opportunity for students to conduct research, grow food for a farm-to-table program and gain hands-on skills that could open doors to employment.