{"id":50521,"date":"2018-02-22T15:08:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T22:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=50521"},"modified":"2018-02-23T10:00:32","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T17:00:32","slug":"spring-2018-campus-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/spring-2018-campus-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"President Cheng highlights ways NAU is nationally recognized and locally vital during Campus Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the spring campus forum this week, Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng pointed out many of the ways the university is nationally recognized and locally vital, along with laying out details of a strategic plan that will help NAU continue to build its reputation and research output.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have heard from many members of the NAU team that our university\u2019s reputation is expanding\u2014around the state, around the country and around the globe,\u201d Cheng said.<\/p>\n

She noted that higher education institutions throughout the nation are facing challenges from many directions, but NAU is taking proactive steps to ensure the university remains a place where students can get a quality, affordable education that prepares them for future jobs and faculty and staff members can reach their potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investments we make, the opportunities we pursue are all centered on the service we provide in our roles as stewards of this university,\u201d she said. \u201cWe meet each challenge with confidence, and together we chart a course to lead in high-quality, student-focused education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheng also shared the five goals of the strategic plan, which is the result of collaboration around a shared vision from every corner of the campus. She thanked those who worked on the plan, as well as the university\u2019s employees for all they do in helping NAU students achieve success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis plan challenges us to coordinate our operations with our long-term goals in mind, so every day we move forward,\u201d Cheng said. \u201cEach of you is an essential part of our progress and success.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Campus Forum is available to watch in its entirety online on NAU-TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first goal is the priority that has shaped NAU\u2019s reputation: student success and access. Cheng said NAU will continue to increase access to higher education and help Lumberjacks reach their goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the coming year NAU will evaluate improve coordination of and consider the effectiveness of our interventions and assistance program as we help our students on their educational journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

The intellectual curiosity that leads students to NAU is the foundation for the second goal: research and discovery. NAU researchers are working to expand the boundaries of knowledge and creativity. The team generates $46.3 million in funded research expenditures and public service projects generate $32.6 million. That research and public service funding has led to 46 invention disclosures and thousands of students with hands-on experience in the quest for new knowledge and the desire to continue that innovation as they go onto graduate programs or start jobs.<\/p>\n

The third goal of the strategic plan is outreach to Native American students. Native American communities have always been a priority for NAU, Cheng said. The aim is to be the nation\u2019s leading university serving students who are Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian.<\/p>\n

More than 2,100 such students are enrolled at NAU now, and the university continues to build partnerships to reach many more. The university\u2019s programs will continue to reach across cultural and linguistic divides to connect to students from every area of Arizona.<\/p>\n

Cheng said she is proud of the many ways NAU impacts every corner of Arizona, but also pointed to room for growth through the fourth goal: engagement. She wants to enhance the strong ties between NAU and the communities served and said the university will continue to align its programs with local workforce needs to create more opportunities for our students.<\/p>\n

The fifth and final goal of the strategic plan is to be even better stewards of the university and its resources. This goal requires action across many areas of operations, and it means the university must adapt to be more efficient and use resources wisely to ensure NAU can continue to accomplish its mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know where we want to be\u2014the impact we want to have in our state, the knowledge we want to create and enhance and the learning outcomes we want for our students,\u201d Cheng said. \u201cBut it is not enough to know the end point\u2014we must align our efforts and strategies to achieve our goals. This plan challenges us to coordinate our operations with our long-term goals in mind, so every day we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the spring campus forum this week, Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng pointed out many of the ways the university is nationally recognized and locally vital, along with laying out details of a strategic plan that will help NAU continue to build its reputation and research output. \u201cI have heard from many members of…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":50522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50521","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\/50521","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\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}