Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander cultures

A group of students and staff at NAU standing in front of a Pi Kappa Alpha marquee and wearing athletic clothes on a sunny day

Campus & Community

NAU students lead the charge in community volunteering efforts

Every year, thousands of NAU students dedicate their free time to volunteering, both on campus and in the greater Flagstaff community. Through nonprofit work, food distribution, voter registration and outreach to their fellow students, they’re keeping NAU’s spirit of relentless welcome alive.

A college of photos of Junia McAlister: A head shot, Junia in a lab, Julia wearing a fancy hat with four other women.

Campus & Community

Meet the trailblazing woman who founded NAU’s chemistry department

It’s an experience common to many women in science—they’re the only woman in their department, on their faculty, in the room. It is not the norm, however, for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at NAU, thanks in large part to the legacy of one woman—Junia McAlister, or Miss Mac, the founding faculty member of the department at a time when women working as scientists was rare.

Experimental forest in northern Minnesota. Courtesy of Courtesy of Paul Hanson, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Research & Academics

How much difference can one degree of warming make?

A huge difference—bigger than scientists knew. A new study led by ecologist Andrew Richardson had alarming results: Any warming, no matter how small, led to an outsized decrease in snow cover. The findings, which challenge existing climate models, underscore the need to refine predictions and understand the cascading effects on ecosystems, including our own in northern Arizona.

Research & Academics

Collage of male researcher working in an engineering lab; female researcher taking notes about plants; and male subject with a cap on his head to measure brain activity.

A record-breaking year of research

NAU saw the largest annual increase in research expenditures in fiscal year 2023, leading to a record-breaking amount of research in a year that also saw NAU's projected achievement in R1 research status. Leaders say it's a testament to NAU's teacher-scholar model and the university's mission of recruiting professors who can help students excel in the classroom while thriving in the research field as well. Learn more about the significance of these numbers for NAU's research program and meet three of NAU's researchers who are on the front lines of planetary science, health equity and inclusion.

The Colorado River going through Marble Canyon with a blue sky.

Where is the Colorado River going?

Into agricultural fields, mostly. An NAU study looking at data from the first two decades of the 21st century showed that irrigated agriculture accounts for 52% of overall use. Significant reductions in use are necessary in the coming years to ensure the iconic river remains viable.

Man with gray hair speaking to students sitting around the edges of a classroom

NAU, OpusVi launch affordable online master’s degree in social work

The Master of Social Work program, offered through a collaboration between NAU and the healthcare workforce development organization OpusVi, will help address a nationwide shortage of social workers by offering an affordable route to accreditation.

Campus & Community

Sustainability award ceremony winner.

NAU’s sustainability leaders: students, organizations and others who are making a difference

NAU's Office of Sustainability held its 12th annual award ceremony on Friday, conferring 16 awards to students, organizations and others in the community working to improve sustainability at NAU and in Northern Arizona.

Dispatcher Jhordyn Bigelow in her uniform sitting at a desk.

'9-1-1, what is your emergency? '

Police dispatchers Jennifer Hood and Jhordyn Bigelow play a crucial yet often overlooked role in maintaining the safety of the NAU campus community. For National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, they offered a glimpse into what a day in their lives looks like and what students might not know about their duties.

Winners of the Gold Axe, President's Prize and Distinguished Senior awards flash LJs on a staircase in the High Country Conference Center.

Honoring the President's Prize, Gold Axe and Distinguished Seniors of the Class of 2024

At a ceremony last week, NAU recognized 45 Gold Axe winners, including five President’s Prize winners—the highest honor awarded to undergraduate students. Additionally, nine students were honored as Distinguished Seniors of their colleges. University leaders, mentors and the students' families were in attendance to honor the accomplishments of these outstanding Lumberjacks.

Lumberjack Features

Picture of Cassie Bonah holding flowers, dressed in traditional Ghanaian attire and facing to the side

Humans of NAU: Cassie Bonah

Honors College senior Cassie Bonah aspires to be a doctor—but not all of her on-campus extracurriculars are directly related to her career goals. The daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, Bonah came to NAU in the midst of the pandemic, when it was tough to forge ties with others who looked like her. As the world opened up again, the biomedical sciences major resolved to bring Black students and employees together by organizing a fashion show that celebrated Black cultures and traditions from around the world.

Janan and a young volunteer (a friend's daughter) installing a pollinator habitat in a local school garden.

Cultivate these traits for a thriving Flagstaff garden

It's National Gardening Month and Janan Scott, Coconino Master Gardener and financial oversight analyst at NAU, knows that growing things in Flagstaff can be challenging. As spring approaches, she shares the traits she's developed that have led to her gardening success and offers advice for how other gardeners can cultivate those traits in themselves.

Kylie Jim plays violin at a Phoenix Suns game.

Humans of NAU: Kylie Jim

Jim—a violinist, guitarist and member of August Remedy, an indie-rock band originating from the Navajo Nation—talks about her experiences performing throughout the Southwest, the differences between being a solo artist and a band member and where NAU will take it in the future.