April 19, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Rita Cheng<\/strong> discussed the progress she\u2019s seen in the last five years and how the strategic plan is helping to move Northern Arizona University forward at the spring 2019 campus forum on Thursday. She also talked about faculty, staff and student accomplishments, discussed increased community outreach and was joined by a special guest\u2014a Starship delivery robot, representing one of the more visible changes to campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe more successful we are, the more Flagstaff, Arizona, the\nnation and the world succeed,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is evident in our\naccomplishments in just the last five years, ensuring that as higher education\nchanges, NAU remains competitive and viable for our students, employees,\ncommunity and state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n NAU has come far in the last five years, President Cheng\nsaid, taking actions that have helped the university become more of an academic\nand research leader. Efforts such as updated IT infrastructure and upgraded classrooms\nthat meet new technology standards have helped to recruit and retain students\nand faculty members alike, while the implementation of multi-term enrollment and\ncentralized scheduling has helped students map out their degree plans and stay\non track to graduate in four years. Reorganizing the advising team has led to\nincreased consistency and more access for students, while One NAU brought\nonline and community campuses under one umbrella that includes a robust support\nsystem, advising, academic collaboration and efficient business processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The university has taken steps to meet the needs of a\nrapidly changing workforce in Arizona and beyond, including creating the School\nof Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Security. Creating the separate College of\nEngineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences and the College of the\nEnvironment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences also provides students and faculty\nin those fields with opportunities for more focused research and study.\nAdditionally, NAU has created a number of new degree programs, including three\nnew Ph.D. programs and the just-approved programs in Indian Country criminal\njustice and building sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the last five years, NAU has increased diversity among\nstudents, faculty and staff; added more student clubs than ever before; witnessed\nthe unprecedented success of a number of athletic teams; experienced national\nrecognition for dozens of academic programs; and for the first time reached out\nto alumni to identify strengths and challenges and seek ways to improve student\noutcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her speech, Cheng also announced that Gabe Monta<\/strong>\u00f1o<\/strong>,\na professor of applied physics and materials science, will be NAU\u2019s diversity\nfellow. He was selected following a lengthy and thorough process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDiversity is a fundamental aspect of the learning experience,\nand I am proud of our ongoing commitment to diversity in our NAU community,\u201d\nshe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking forward, President Cheng said she and her team are\neager for feedback from all corners of campus. She discussed the efforts she\nand her team have made to have conversations with community leaders and\nmembers, faculty and students, including more than 50 listening sessions in the\nlast five years. These are intended to solicit feedback that can then be used\nto help NAU improve, and she thanked everyone who has participated in such\nsessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Student feedback has been particularly beneficial. Because\nof information based on students\u2019 diverse lived experiences, NAU recently expanded\nspace for the Office of Inclusion: Multicultural and LGBTQIA Student Services\nand created a student advisory group to review and recommend priorities for how\nto spend the athletics fee revenue. Collaboration between ITS and ASNAU created\nmore affordable printing opportunities for students and provided information\nabout the need for improved wireless Internet access across campus. The\nuniversity\u2019s bandwidth also will increase this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Student leaders, along with faculty and staff, also noted the need\nfor greater resources to treat student mental health, a challenge universities\nthroughout the nation are facing. An increase to the Health and Learning Center\nfee will help fund mental health counseling and support services, including six\nnew care providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Cheng discussed the university\u2019s move to the\nProsci\/ADKAR method of change management, which outlines a clear process for\nchange that incorporates extensive participation and communication. It has been\nused in several new initiatives, including a recently launched Strategic Space\nUtilization Assessment that provided a comprehensive study of NAU\u2019s internal\nspaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also focused on outreach with the community, having recently\ninvited elected and appointed leaders from the city to campus for an\norientation and a discussion about NAU operations and the strategic plan. She\nhighlighted a recent joint public meeting between NAU, the City of Flagstaff\nand the County Board of Supervisors that enabled NAU leaders to share the value\nNAU brings to the community and discussing collaborative issues like the 2020\nCensus, transportation and planning and forest restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Student success remains high on the priority for NAU, Cheng said, and administrators are looking at admission, enrollment and retention rates as well as ways to increase access to higher education for both traditional and nontraditional students and those who can\u2019t enroll in the Flagstaff campus. The university has teams that evaluate and coordinate the effectiveness of NAU\u2019s programs in order to help students on their educational journey. The focus is on organizational linkages, improving pedagogy and reducing the rates of students who drop, fail or withdraw from a class. Universities throughout the country are on the same journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A big part of those efforts is improving the experience for\nstudents throughout the state. More than a quarter of NAU\u2019s students attend\nclasses in Phoenix, Yuma, Yavapai or at one of 20 community college campuses\nthroughout the state or they take online courses while living and working in\nother parts of the country and world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of these degree programs are delivered in flexible\nformats with an emphasis on affordability and in partnership with the community\ncolleges. They allow for the transfer of up to 90 credits in several degree\noptions so students don\u2019t have to retake courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOffering students a\ndistinct choice between experiences, locations, academic program options and\ncosts is a critical element of NAU\u2019s mission of access to a university\neducation for all Arizonans,\u201d Cheng said. \u201cNAU is addressing both student and\nworkforce demands to assist local families and communities meet their\nindividual needs within their economic abilities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n President Cheng also talked about NAU\u2019s partnerships\nthroughout the world. In March, an NAU delegation attended the opening of a\njoint Forest Biosecurity Research Center with the University of Tyumen in\nSiberia, Russia, where forestry professor Rich\nHofstetter<\/strong> has done research for years. Almost a fourth of the world\u2019s\nforests are in Siberia, so this relationship gives Hofstetter and his students,\nas well as other professors interested in doing research there, strategic\naccess to these environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NAU also has increased the number of student and faculty\nexchanges opportunities with various universities in Mexico and is building a\ngreater presence in South Asia, Latin America and Europe at a time when\ninternational enrollment is down at universities throughout the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Cheng addressed the budget, reiterating her team\u2019s\ndesires to ensure NAU\u2019s financial status is strong. NAU is facing similar\nproblems as many institutions of higher education, including the challenges of lower\nbirthrates; fewer students graduating from high school; less money from the\nstate; and large populations of first-generation and underrepresented minority\nstudents who face unique barriers to education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She credited not only her team but also administrators throughout\nthe university who responded by tightening budgets when tuition revenue was\nless than expected this year and said NAU looks to end the fiscal year with a\nbalanced budget while ensuring an excellent educational experience for\nstudents. Making those adjustments, while also ensuring NAU is enrolling and\nretaining students, is critical to the long-term health of the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Administrators also are looking at ways to diversify revenue\nsources, including through philanthropic donations, research and public service\ngrants and indirect cost recovery revenue. President Cheng shared that she has\nmet with Gov. Doug Ducey and leaders in the Arizona Legislature to advocate for\nNAU. Ducey is particularly invested in the Teachers Academy; NAU\u2019s academy saw\nits enrollment double in its second year, and it continues to grow at locations\nthroughout the state. The additional funding budgeted this year for the\nTeachers Academy should allow NAU to implement this program at the Flagstaff\ncampus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NAU has seen an increase in research money flowing into the\nuniversity; in 2017-18, NAU exceeded the research funding goal ABOR set with\n$52.9 million in research and development expenditures. Faculty and staff at\nNAU have 50 invention disclosures, 15 patents issued and $88.2 million in\nresearch and public service expenditures in the last year. All of that\ncontributes to the educational experiences of NAU\u2019s students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe want to provide answers, create solutions and empower our\nstudents to be innovative and overcome obstacles,\u201d she said. \u201cYou are elevating\nNAU\u2019s reputation, connecting our students to work that expresses, and answers,\nthe world\u2019s greatest challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tuition remains top of mind; ABOR approved the smallest increase\nin the pledge rate NAU has ever proposed, as well as the elimination of more\nthan 300 class fees and the reduction of another 300 fees. This will not only\nsave students money but also increase transparency and help students see for\nwhat they are actually paying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Cheng announced an up to 3 percent salary increase for\neligible faculty and staff, effective July 1. It\u2019s a first step in addressing\nthe challenges NAU faces with market competitiveness, she said. Her\nadministration also is working to raise the lowest level student salaries from\n$8 to $10 an hour. That increase will affect 28 percent of student workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent study from the Alliance Bank Economic Policy Institute estimated\nthat NAU contributes more than $2.6 billion to Arizona\u2019s economy every year, an\nincrease of 25 percent from just two years ago. More than 100,000 NAU alumni\nlive and work in Arizona. <\/p>\n\n\n\n NAU has many partnerships with organizations in the county and\nstate to help improve the lives of Arizonans. Partnerships with the community\nincluding the Museum of Northern Arizona, NAIPTA, United Way, the City of\nFlagstaff and Coconino County and Northern Arizona Healthcare. Nursing and\ndental hygiene students serve thousands of patients annually, education\nstudents provide more than 100,000 volunteer hours in local schools each year\nand the Civic Service Institute has more than 1,500 volunteers who provide\nclose to half a million hours of community service to almost 300 agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, student groups contributed more than 20,000 hours of\nvolunteer service to the community, and community members came to campus for\nmore than 400 performing arts and 75 athletic events in the last year. President\nCheng reminded the audience of how important these relationships are to all of\nthe participants. NAU is proud to be part of the Flagstaff and Arizona\ncommunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt our campuses throughout the state, NAU\u2019s economic impact is growing,\u201d she said. \u201cWe create jobs, intellectual property, technology transfer and business incubation, and we educate and develop the sophisticated, high-level workforce that meets the demands of today\u2019s industry. An increasing percentage of Arizona students choose NAU for their education, and the increasing number of those Lumberjacks who live and work in Arizona after their graduation positively affect the quality of life, health, education and economic outcomes of our communities and our state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nIncreased\ncommunication<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Student success<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Budget\nquestions<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Community\nrelations and the economy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n