{"id":76771,"date":"2026-01-12T14:58:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=76771"},"modified":"2026-01-12T14:58:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:58:34","slug":"in-the-spotlight-jan-12-16-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/in-the-spotlight-jan-12-16-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Spotlight: Jan. 12-16, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Do you have a spotlight item to share with the NAU community?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">E-mail your announcements to\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"mailto:Inside@nau.edu\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Inside@nau.edu<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, or use\u00a0our\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/news-tip\/#.YEjwNWhKg2w\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">online submission form<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The American College Personnel Association (ACPA) recognized School of Communication alum\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Kevin Wright\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">as one of its 2026 Diamond Honorees. Honorees are scholars who have made outstanding contributions to higher education and for whom individuals can donate ACPA funds. Wright was chosen for his sustained commitment to higher education through student affairs and development.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sun Kim,\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">School of Communication assistant professor, authored the article \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/eprint\/IAHNKI5FEK7JBCFFTPIR\/full?target=10.1080\/1062726X.2025.2609673#abstract\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Does Solidarity Lead to Mutual Support? Cultivating Unity Between Black and Asian Americans<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u201d published in the Journal of Public Relations Research. The paper explores the factors that help and hinder the formation of intergroup minority coalitions, specifically between Black and Asian American activists, based on research he completed for his dissertation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ten students from NAU\u2019s Sports and Adventure Media certificate program traveled to Phoenix on Dec. 26 to cover the 2025 Rate Bowl.\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Adriana Sparks<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Alyssa Munoz<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Brooklyn Grizzell<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jazelle Contreras<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Lydia\u00a0Schwieters<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ben Sloma<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0produced content for the NAZ Today broadcast.\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bryan Adams\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jake Mahl<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0produced work for KAFF Sports, and\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Austin Williams\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Alexandra Ray\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">submitted coverage to the Arizona Daily Sun.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Department of Mathematics and Statistics assistant professor\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Minah Kim\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">earned a $10,000 research grant from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The award supports early-career mathematics educators and doctoral candidates in mathematics education.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">NAU\u00a0alumna\u00a0and former mathematics professor\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Hannah Golab<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0was nominated for the 2025 Coconino County Rookie Teacher of the Year award for her work at Sinagua Middle School. The award spotlights exceptional teachers who have noticeably inspired their students and have set themselves apart from others in their profession.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"search-results-excerpt-link\" href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/in-the-spotlight-jan-12-16-2026\/\">Kudos to these faculty, staff and programs. Do you have a spotlight item to share with the NAU community? E-mail your announcements to\u00a0Inside@nau.edu, or use\u00a0our\u00a0online submission form. The American College Personnel Association (ACPA) recognized School of Communication alum\u00a0Kevin Wright\u00a0as one of its 2026 Diamond Honorees. Honorees are scholars who have made outstanding contributions to higher&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76771","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\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76771\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}