A U.S. Army veteran with expertise in operational and strategic management has been appointed to lead the university\u2019s Veterans Affairs office and emergency management activities.<\/p>\n
Northern Arizona University President\u00a0John Haeger<\/strong>\u00a0announced this week that retired Lt. Col.\u00a0Andrew Griffin<\/strong>, who has helped lead the growth of NAU\u2019s Army ROTC enrollment since 2000, has assumed the new role to help NAU better serve its military veterans as well as centralize the university\u2019s comprehensive emergency and disaster preparedness.<\/p>\n Haeger said the university will immediately benefit from Griffin\u2019s leadership and expertise both in the military and as a senior level officer at NAU.<\/p>\n \u201cLt. Col. Griffin is helping us address the pressing and immediate need for attention in two areas of critical importance to the university,\u201d Haeger said. \u201cWe are fortunate to have someone of his caliber, experience and character to lead these efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n Reporting to\u00a0David Bousquet<\/strong>, vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Griffin said he considers himself like \u201ca symphony conductor working to coordinate each of these two areas.\u201d<\/p>\n In his new role directing Veterans Affairs, Griffin is responsible for managing all efforts related to the outreach, retention and graduation of student veterans. This includes establishing a student veterans\u2019 center on the Flagstaff campus and working with Residence Life to create an on-campus living community for NAU\u2019s student veterans, among other charges.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not good enough to just recruit the military service members and their families as they seek a university education to help transition into the civilian world,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cWe will foster an environment that retains this uniquely diverse student population and supports their educational progress towards graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n As the director of emergency management, Griffin serves as the lead campus representative entrusted with continually improving the university\u2019s emergency management program. In this role, he will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of all potential natural, technological and human threats and hazards on campus, lead the emergency management team in updating the campus Emergency Operations Plan, and conduct a series of tests and exercises to ensure the plan is within compliance of the National Incident Management System.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope to build upon the great work already accomplished by many of our staff to provide a comprehensive emergency management program,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWe will be focusing on the integration of safety and incident mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery into existing campus organizations and activities, as well as local, regional and federal organizations and agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s first day as director for Emergency Management and Veterans Affairs was Monday, March 29.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"