{"id":32621,"date":"2014-09-26T14:45:06","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T21:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stage.headlessnauedu-b6hgdzckfdgxgzhe.westus-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=32621"},"modified":"2014-09-26T16:56:20","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T23:56:20","slug":"rita-cheng-optimistic-nau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/rita-cheng-optimistic-nau\/","title":{"rendered":"Rita Cheng ‘optimistic, even proud’ of NAU’s upward trajectory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opportunities, challenges and lessons learned\u00a0from her first five weeks permeated the\u00a0presentation given by NAU President Rita Cheng<\/strong> when she welcomed the Arizona Board of\u00a0Regents to Flagstaff this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see reasons to be optimistic, even proud, just as I see many areas that may call for some attention sooner than later,\u201d said Cheng, who described the university\u2019s progress as an upward trajectory.<\/p>\n

Themes that emerged from Cheng\u2019s presentation were NAU\u2019s traditions and innovation. \u201cWhat we do well \u2013 in undergraduate education, in focused research, in outreach to underrepresented students \u2013 we have consistently done well for a long time.\u201d She reiterated the university\u2019s continued path on the leading edge of biotechnology and in online adaptive learning, as well as in public-private partnerships.<\/p>\n

The board reviewed progress toward goals for each of the three universities and 32 metrics identified as key measures in the Enterprise Plan<\/a>. Many of the metrics are on target to meet 2020 goals including overall enrollment, community college transfers and total bachelor\u2019s degrees awarded. The report tied freshman retention rates to strengthening the six-year graduation rate, two challenge areas Cheng discussed in her presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are taking full advantage of the opportunity to be creative in retaining these students through graduation while emphasizing the quality of their experience,\u201d Cheng said. \u201cWe welcome the insights provided by the metrics, and we will not shy away from understanding where we are and establishing where we need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regent\u00a0Greg Patterson<\/strong>\u00a0commended NAU for its multifaceted approach to student support, including partnering with community colleges to build student skills and help prepare them for rigorous university coursework. He said \u201cNAU has done extremely well\u201d at identifying students who can benefit from taking courses through the 2NAU program, sharpening skills in math and chemistry courses at a community college while still having access to support services at the university and staying on track to a bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

The board approved the university budgets for 2014-15 to submit to the governor and Legislature, which included a request for a third year of performance funding for all three universities. If approved, NAU will earn a total of $14 million, while Arizona State University stands to gain $38.3 million and the University of Arizona $14.5 million. The proposal responds to the state requirement\u00a0for\u00a0budget requests to include metrics on student hours completed, a focus designed to keep students on track toward graduation, and incentives for awarding high-demand degrees.<\/p>\n

Regent Rick Myers<\/strong> agreed with suggestions for the performance-funding model\u00a0and\u00a0said the state also should provide financial aid for more students, a move that could provide greater accessibility to a college education.<\/p>\n

Myers also praised NAU\u2019s student safety report<\/a>, calling it \u201cnot just another exercise but seriously good work.\u201d Cynthia Anderson, director of Residence Life, presented the Student Safety Task Force recommendations, which listed\u00a0inter-agency agreements, on-campus mental health support services, changes for fraternity and sororities, and the university\u2019s numerous alcohol-education initiatives.<\/p>\n

Former NAU President\u00a0John Haeger<\/strong>\u00a0was presented with the Regents Medal and designated with \u201cPresident Emeritus\u201d status. Chairman\u00a0Mark Killian<\/strong>\u00a0recapped highlights from Haeger\u2019s 13-year presidency, noting Haeger is one of only a dozen individuals who have earned the honor since it was established in 1965. Haeger accepted the award and designation\u00a0amid\u00a0applause and a standing ovation.<\/p>\n

NAU\u2019s\u00a0capital improvement plan<\/a>\u00a0received approval to complete upgrades to fire safety and accessibility in academic facilities on the Flagstaff campus. The plan includes the second phase of a multiyear effort to identify efficiencies and improve campus energy services.<\/p>\n

Each university presented reports on use of TRIF, or technology, research and innovation funds, a\u00a0voter-approved funding allocated from Arizona taxes to further\u00a0university research and innovations. William<\/strong>\u00a0Grabe<\/strong>, vice president for Research, said NAU has\u00a0made some significant investments in health, environmental and climate science initiatives, in addition to strategically hiring researchers.<\/p>\n

The regents will meet again Nov. 20-21 at Arizona State University in Tempe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opportunities, challenges and lessons learned\u00a0from her first five weeks permeated the\u00a0presentation given by NAU President Rita Cheng when she welcomed the Arizona Board of\u00a0Regents to Flagstaff this week. \u201cI see reasons to be optimistic, even proud, just as I see many areas that may call for some attention sooner than later,\u201d said Cheng, who described…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":32661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}