{"id":77281,"date":"2026-03-15T19:33:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T02:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=77281"},"modified":"2026-03-15T19:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T02:33:40","slug":"the-great-survival-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/the-great-survival-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Survival Debate is back at NAU!"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAU\u2019s Great Survival Debate is back, bringing champions from\u00a0different disciplines together\u00a0to\u00a0argue which area of study, research\u00a0or\u00a0creativity\u00a0would be the most important when\u00a0starting a\u00a0new civilization\u00a0on a distant moon.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2019,\u00a0different\u00a0NAU\u00a0departments\u00a0and colleges\u00a0have\u00a0competed in this wacky\u00a0game for\u00a0fun\u00a0and for glory. Organized\u00a0jointly\u00a0by the Department\u00a0of Theatre\u00a0and\u00a0the Department of\u00a0Philosophy, this yearly tradition\u00a0is open to anyone who wants to have fun and\u00a0participate\u00a0in selecting\u00a0a winner.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was directing a production of\u00a0\u2018<\/span>Mr. Burns,\u00a0A Post-Electric Play\u2019<\/span>\u00a0and was struck by how few students, staff and faculty go outside of their own departments,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Kathleen\u00a0M.\u00a0McGeever<\/span><\/b>, chair of the Department of Theatre\u00a0and founder of the event. \u201cI remembered an event while I was teaching at the University of Montevallo in\u00a0central Alabama that ran for 30 years\u00a0called the\u00a0Life Raft\u00a0Debate,\u00a0and it hit me that I could replicate it more theatrically at NAU. The goal was to break down silos and expand the views of all that NAU had to offer,\u00a0but in a fun event that broke down walls good-naturedly.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

McGeever enlisted<\/span>\u00a0Julie Piering<\/span><\/b>, dean of the College of Arts and Letters,\u00a0to help\u00a0organize the\u00a0event, inviting faculty from five to six different academic disciplines to\u00a0participate.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt becomes really\u00a0funny\u00a0really fast,\u201d Piering said. \u201cIt is\u00a0a\u00a0great\u00a0way\u00a0to\u00a0showcase\u00a0what we do\u00a0and get an in-depth look at what different disciplines have to offer, not only for our students, but also for each other. It is an\u00a0opportunity to\u00a0gain\u00a0a sense of the joy and passion our amazing faculty have. It is also\u00a0just\u00a0good\u00a0intellectual\u00a0mischief,\u00a0and everyone does a fabulous job.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s winner was\u00a0<\/span>Devon Randall<\/span><\/b>, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Piering said she won by arguing her case on the benefits of fermentation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was brilliant,\u201d Piering said.\u00a0\u201cShe asked\u00a0the audience if they\u00a0liked cheese or beer, arguing that we could not start over our civilization without fermentation.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The winner gets to take the\u00a0coveted\u00a0Axe\u00a0for a year, as well as a\u00a0special\u00a0token that has to do with\u00a0that\u00a0year\u2019s scenario. The\u00a0following\u00a0year, they get back on stage\u00a0to\u00a0defend their title.\u00a0The\u00a02024 winner,\u00a0<\/span>Sanjay Joshi<\/span><\/b>, a professor from the Department of History, was unable to defend his title last year, so he will be back\u00a0this year\u00a0to face Randall,\u00a0along with some new faces,\u00a0like\u00a0<\/span>Dana Ernst<\/span><\/b>, chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics,\u00a0who\u00a0is bringing math into the equation for the first time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u00a0took on\u00a0the position\u00a0of\u00a0chair\u00a0for\u00a0the department,\u00a0I had a mission,\u201d Ernst said. \u201cI wanted to elevate the importance of mathematicians and how\u00a0the discipline\u00a0plays a role in our society. Most of the time,\u00a0as mathematicians,\u00a0we are doing our own thing, assuming everyone knows why math is important.\u00a0Participating\u00a0in the Great Survival Debate fits right into my mission. I am excited to\u00a0argue\u00a0the value of my discipline.\u00a0I feel it\u00a0is more important than ever to argue for the value of all academic\u00a0disciplines,\u00a0and this is an opportunity to do so in a fun atmosphere.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Participating this year, along with Ernst, Joshi and Randall,\u00a0are\u00a0<\/span>Slava\u00a0Fofanov<\/span><\/b>, executive director of the School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Chrissina\u00a0Burke<\/span><\/b>, teaching professor in the Department of Anthropology<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Katie\u00a0Tullmann<\/span><\/b>, chair of the Philosophy Department,\u00a0will\u00a0play\u00a0the role of\u00a0Devil\u2019s\u00a0Advocate\u2014<\/span>arguing that all academic disciplines are useless and should be left\u00a0behind.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been trying to reach every discipline over the years,\u201d McGeever said. \u201cWe have had participants as varied as dental hygiene,\u00a0biology,\u00a0arts,\u00a0humanities\u00a0and\u00a0social\u00a0sciences. We hope that everyone can learn something new about the many disciplines\u00a0we have. NAU has a lot to offer,\u00a0and seeing its richness is a real treat.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The winner\u00a0is\u00a0selected by a panel of judges that consists of two philosophy students and two theater students, along with three faculty\u00a0members\u00a0or staff\u00a0who are not tied to the disciplines that are debating. The applause-o-meter from the\u00a0audience helps\u00a0the judges\u00a0determine\u00a0the winner, and while judges deliberate,\u00a0spectators are\u00a0entertained by NAU\u2019s\u00a0improv\u00a0troupe\u00a0or\u00a0can\u00a0catch\u00a0a glimpse of NAU\u2019s next theatrical production.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want everyone in attendance to witness how disciplinarily diverse we are,\u201d Piering said. \u201cWe have\u00a0such a broad\u00a0scope that we\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0always\u00a0have the ability to\u00a0fully\u00a0attend to\u00a0everything that we do.\u00a0The goal of a university\u00a0is not just the\u00a0production of\u00a0knowledge;\u00a0it is\u00a0also, at its core,\u00a0an essential\u00a0public good. The work we do at NAU serves the public interest,\u00a0and\u00a0an event like the Great\u00a0Survival\u00a0Debate is an especially\u00a0fun way to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0how much of a public good the university is.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>Great Survival Debate<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is scheduled\u00a0for\u00a06-8 p.m. on\u00a0Thursday, March 19,\u00a0in\u00a0the Clifford E. White Theatre\u00a0in the Performing and Fine Arts\u00a0building.\u00a0This event is free and open to the public.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a>Mariana Laas | NAU Communications
\n(928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAU\u2019s Great Survival Debate is back, bringing champions from\u00a0different disciplines together\u00a0to\u00a0argue which area of study, research\u00a0or\u00a0creativity\u00a0would be the most important when\u00a0starting a\u00a0new civilization\u00a0on a distant moon.\u00a0 Since 2019,\u00a0different\u00a0NAU\u00a0departments\u00a0and colleges\u00a0have\u00a0competed in this wacky\u00a0game for\u00a0fun\u00a0and for glory. Organized\u00a0jointly\u00a0by the Department\u00a0of Theatre\u00a0and\u00a0the Department of\u00a0Philosophy, this yearly tradition\u00a0is open to anyone who wants to have fun and\u00a0participate\u00a0in selecting\u00a0a winner.\u00a0…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":77282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-happenings"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77281","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\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}