Inside NAU, a publication of the Office of Public Affairs


Calendar \| Spotlight \| NAU in the News \| Archives \| Submit a News Tip	Vol. 3 No. 13 \| March 29, 2006

•	Students call Alternative Spring Break a life-changing experience
•	Diversity and equity rewarded
•	EPA's Las Vegas learning center named for Virgil Masayesva
•	Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, to speak at NAU
•	Photojournalism week brings world views to campus
•	NAU women leaders share their stories
•	Conference to address obesity issues
•	English professor awarded national funding for new book
•	Sociology and Social Work programs earn national award
•	Flute Studio presenting free recital
•	Voters ponder fate of several ballot questions
•	Merriam-Powell Research Center begins construction
•	Einstein's path to greatness explored
•	American Democracy Project launches
•	Carl Fox, Josh Allen to leave NAU
•	Richard Eiting retiring
•	Spotlight
•	NAU in the News

Inside NAU is published weekly for faculty, staff and friends of Northern Arizona University. We welcome story ideas related to NAU's mission, its employees and its students. Submit story ideas to
Tracie Hansen, (928) 523-6908, or
e-mail Inside@nau.edu.

Publisher: John D. Haeger,
   President
Contributing writers: Tom Bauer,    Tracie Hansen, Elizabeth
   Hellstern, Diane Rechel, Lisa
   Nelson— Office of Public Affairs
Design: Tracie Hansen—Office
   of Public Affairs

Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
Send us an e-mail.

Here's a sampling of upcoming events at NAU. For a complete listing of campus events for the next two weeks, including times and locations of those items listed here, click on the links below:

Academic Calendar & Official Dates
•	March 31: Open enrollment
Arts & Entertainment
•	April 6, 8 and 9: NAU Opera Presents Don Giovanni
Employee Development
•	April 6: Dealing with Substance Abuse in the Workplace
Faculty & Staff
•	April 5: Finding Food in Canyon County with Ken Meter
Lectures, Workshops, Seminars & Conferences
•	April 5: Keeping Brands and Brains Fresh
•	April 6: Native to Nowhere: Sustaining Home and Community in a Global Age
•	April 6: Fourth Annual NAU Assessment Fair
Recreational Sports
•	April 8: Fly Fishing Workshop
Student Life
•	April 8: NAMI walk
Submit your NAU events online at events.nau.edu.

Students call
Alternative Spring Break
a life-changing experience
The 37 students who participated in NAU's first Alternative Spring Break last week were well-prepared for the physical labor they anticipated in helping a Gulf Coast community rebuild after being ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. What they hadn't predicted, however, was how the experience would change their lives.

Diversity and equity rewarded
The first Diversity and Equity Awards Dinner on March 28 not only celebrated the university's strides toward diversity, it celebrated taking even bigger steps in the future.

EPA's Las Vegas learning center named for
Virgil Masayesva
Virgil Masayesva spent his professional life working with Native American tribes on issues related to education, the environment, health and economic development.

Masayesva, who died in March 2005, was honored last week by the Environmental Protection Agency with the dedication of the Virgil Masayesva Environmental Learning Center in Las Vegas.

Dolores Huerta, co-founder
of the United Farm Workers,
to speak at NAU
World-renowned social activist Delores Huerta will speak at a free public lecture at 7 p.m. April 6 in Prochnow Auditorium.

Huerta is recognized as one the nation's most powerful and respected labor movement leaders for her efforts to eliminate the conditions of poverty that defined the lives of farm workers in the 1950s and 60s.

A young boy watches his relatives repair a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in the home of a Mahdi Army fighter.

Photojournalism week brings world views
to campus
Every picture tells a story during photojournalism week at the School of Communication.

NAU women leaders share their stories
Four of Northern Arizona University's women leaders are hoping their roads to success will inspire others during HerStory, NAU's upcoming Leaders on Leadership Series.

Conference to address obesity issues
The Arizona Conference to Prevent Obesity, being held at Northern Arizona University 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 13 at the du Bois Center, will bring together a panel of nationally recognized health experts, educators and scientists to introduce the latest obesity research findings and preventative strategies that have been successful in reducing some of the life-threatening effects of obesity in both adults and children.

English professor awarded national funding
for new book
Jeff Berglund, an assistant professor in the Department of English, has been awarded a $5,000 summer stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities to work on his new book, Remembering the Long Walk to Hwééldi: Diné (Navajo) Memorial Histories.

Sociology and Social Work programs earn
national award
The Department of Sociology and Social Work earned a national Academic Excellence Award from the American Public Human Services Association for its outstanding contributions to the field of human services.

Flute Studio presenting free recital
The eight music majors comprising the NAU Flute Studio will perform a recital of French flute works at 7:30 p.m. April 2 in Ashurst Auditorium. The recital is the culmination of a year's worth of preparation by Laura Barron, assistant professor of flute.

Voters ponder fate of several ballot questions
Arizonans are starting to evaluate initiatives likely to be on the November ballot and are showing strong support for some and uncertainty for others, according to a Grand Canyon State Poll conducted by the Social Research Laboratory at Northern Arizona University.

Merriam-Powell Research Station begins construction

Merriam-Powell Research Center groundbreaking

Neil Cobb (left), director of the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, presents Amy Whipple, director of the Merriam-Powell Research Station, with a certificate of appreciation for her work coordinating the upcoming Merriam-Powell Research Station at the Arboretum at Flagstaff. Steve Yoder (back), acting director of the Arboretum of Flagstaff and NAU President John Haeger (right) were also on hand March 17 to celebrate the beginning of construction.

Construction of the Merriam-Powell Research Station should be completed by the end of the summer and will provide housing and meeting space for field researchers and students who will conduct research and teaching activities on the Arboretum, NAU's Centennial Forest, and other public and private lands in northern Arizona. The construction is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation and NAU. It was made possible also because the Arboretum provided a construction site.

Einstein's path to greatness explored
"Einstein's Path to His Miracle Year: 1879 to 1905," will be presented by Don Howard, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, during a free talk at 7 p.m. April 4 in the Liberal Arts building.

American Democracy Project launches
Increasing civic engagement is the goal of Northern Arizona University's American Democracy Project, which will kick off with a discussion led by one of the national program's founders.

Carl Fox, Josh Allen to leave NAU
Two senior staff members have announced they are leaving NAU in search of new challenges and opportunities.

Richard Eiting retiring
Richard Eiting, HVAC Mechanic at NAU for more than 20 years, is retiring. A retirement party in his honor is being held at 2 p.m. March 30 at Capital Assets and Services, bldg. 77, in the break room.

Peter June Corbell, a 2004 NAU graduate
Zsuzsanna Gulacsi, assistant professor in Humanities, Arts & Religion
Natalie Hess, professor of bilingual multicultural education and co-coordinator of education courses at NAU in Yuma
GEAR UP

Isle of ghosts: Former Portuguese outpost brims with history's phantoms
Though physically isolated from mass culture, Diu Town (an island in India) was beginning to show the telltale quirks and ironies that come with globalization. In the public square, for instance, the old Portuguese whipping post bore a poster that read: "Learn Karate! (Sinsei: Kiran P. Prajapati)." In Diu's outdoor market, one could choose between baseball caps embossed with either a New York Yankees symbol, a John Deere patch or (against all probability) a logo touting Northern Arizona University's department of nursing.

San Francisco Chronicle (Berkeley, CA), 3/19/2006

For more NAU in the News this week, click here.