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Media highlights for the week of Sept. 20-23, 2005
A sampling of NAU programs, professors, students, staff and alumni appearing in the news
Observers say tragedy on Strip unlikely to hurt tourism
A suspected vehicular assault on a busy Strip sidewalk that killed two and injured 12 others should not affect travelers' willingness to visit Las Vegas, observers said Thursday. Claudia Jurowski, an eight-year professor of travel and tourism at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff said, 'If this happened all of the time, I think it would have a big impact. But my experience suggests people will look at this as an isolated incident.' Las Vegas inherently appeals to risk takers, a group that's unlikely to change plans over a single tragedy, she added.
Las Vegas Review Journal (Las Vegas, NV) 9/23/2005
Pack Rat Piles: Rodent rubbish provides ice age thermometer
Scientists have relied on many lines of evidence to reconstruct climate trends. In the arid deserts that surround the Grand Canyon, Kenneth Cole of the U.S. Geological Survey and Samantha Arundel of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff have turned to pack rats' fossilized collections, or middens. Cole and Arundel revealed the local ice age climate by considering the unique temperature gradient of the Grand Canyon along with clues from pack rat scat and fossilized pieces of a plant called Utah agave that turn up in middens.
Science News (Washington, DC) 9/23/2005
Prof in demand
They won't go away. The requests for interviews. The invitations to speak at conferences and organizations. Northern Arizona University professor Cathy Small sees the irony in it. The purpose of the book helped her relate to her students so that she could be a better teacher. The book could keep her on a speaking tour for a year—and away from the classroom—if she let it.
Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, AZ) 9/23/2005
ASU, UA, NAU to be more selective of freshman admissions
Beginning next fall, a new policy will allow the three Arizona universities to be more selective of future freshman. The new policy gives Arizona State, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University the option of rejecting students who don't make the top quarter. Whether they'll choose to exercise that right is unknown.
KPHO-TV5 News at 10 PM (Phoenix, AZ) 9/22/2005
Foam on the range
This weekend's Sun Sounds 19th Annual Great Tucson Beer Festival at Hi Corbett Field will feature hundreds of beers from breweries all over the Southwest. "It's a good time to test beers," Tucson engineer Shawn Hermann says. Hermann began going to beer festivals while in college ("Big surprise," he says) at Northern Arizona University, and stuck with it when he moved to Tucson.
Tucson Citizen (Tucson, AZ) 9/22/2005
State universities push tech-transfer growth
Tech transfer is the process of transferring discoveries from academic laboratories to businesses that can take them into the commercial marketplace. University and high-tech leaders are increasingly pinning hopes on it as a way to boost university finances and spur fresh growth in Arizona's technology economy. "Where we are is a great first step, but it's a far cry from what we expect to achieve," said Peter Slate, chief executive officer of Arizona Technology Enterprises LLC, the tech-transfer arm for ASU and Northern Arizona University. The schools are showing progress on most key indicators of their ability to commercialize ideas developed by professors and students.
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) 9/22/2005
State to show agriculture industry to foreign leaders
Agriculture leaders from 18 countries are headed to Arizona to see the fruits of the state's $6.6 billion agriculture industry. Their visit includes a tour of Northern Arizona University's School of Forestry.
The Business Review Albany (Phoenix, AZ) 9/22/2005
Area leaders provide information to State Task Force on Education Reform
The Joint Legislative Ad Hoc Task Force on Higher Education Reform public hearings were held Sept. 12 at Northland Pioneer College in Snowflake. Frederick Hurst, vice president of Extended Programs and Dean of Distance Learning at NAU, said, "To me it's critically important that we provide access," noting that affordability is part of access. NAU has eight offices in the NPC service area offering 12 different programs, which range from nursing to pre-business. There are presently 18 undergraduate and 17 graduate programs available online. He pointed out that the Arizona Board of Regents has already taken the first step to see that NAU's off-campus tuition is lower than the universities, and they have no intent on changing the admissions requirements, unlike the other two institutions. "Especially for those in rural areas, we want to ensure it's fully accessible, especially with distance learning," said Hurst, who related that NAU has a long history of partnerships with community colleges.
Navajo County Publishers (Holbrook, AZ) 9/21/2005
Synova Healthcare, Inc. announces appointment of Chief Financial Officer
Synova Healthcare Inc. today announced that it has appointed Mr. Robert Edwards as Chief Financial Officer to oversee all financial reporting and accounting activities across the company's operations. Edwards holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Arizona University, and has successfully completed competition and strategy courses at the Harvard University Business School.
PR Newswire (online) 9/21/2005
Group probes community college programs
Should community colleges be allowed to offer baccalaureate (four year) degrees? The Joint Legislative Task Force on Higher Education asked for the public's input on the issue at a forum Sept. 12 in the Performing Arts Center at Northland Pioneer College's Silver Creek Campus. Fred Hurst, NAU's Dean of Distance Education, pointed out how NAU has reached out in rural communities, with 30 off-campus sites including eight in Navajo County. He said NAU has a long history of partnerships with community colleges.
WMI Central (White Mountains, AZ) 9/21/2005
Editorial: Regents board in need of rural representation
We here in our area are somewhat familiar with the importance of the Arizona Board of Regents due to our connections with Northern Arizona University, which operates a 2-plus-2 program in conjunction with Arizona Western College. We also became more aware of the board not long ago when a reorganization of the state university system was being considered that would have created a new university in southern Arizona. The plan, however, was a dissatisfying one from our viewpoint. There can and should be members appointed to the board from rural areas which have just as much interest in making sure their children receive quality higher educations.
Yuma Sun (Yuma, AZ) 9/21/2005
New power for renewable energy research
In renewable energy research, wind power is a viable and attractive technology. Using FIELDVIEW ATViewer, previously unobservable phenomena have been seen and the results from these large datasets are easily shared with colleagues across the country. "I was amazed when I started working with our data using the FIELDVIEW ATViewer. To see moving flows and to interact with the data at 15-20 fps is a fundamental change in the way we can work," said Dr. Earl Duque, leader of the Intelligent Light response to the HPC Analytics Challenge and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Northern Arizona University. "I have been able to quickly see the development of unique airflows that affect the efficiency of rotor turbines. This has huge implications for the development of highly efficient wind energy, and more broadly, for the way that CFD is practiced and the impact it can have beyond the CFD community."
PR Newswire via Lycos (online) 9/21/2005
NAU, MNA team up on Colorado Plateau
Northern Arizona University and the Museum of Northern Arizona are broadening their Colorado Plateau research and teaching collaborative efforts to include a joint collection facility, the creation of a museum studies program and access for television documentaries about NAU research made by museum personnel. "The Museum of Northern Arizona and Northern Arizona University already have established research, education and service alliances, but this agreement strengthens those ties," President John Haeger said in a release.
Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, AZ) 9/20/2005
Backyard tents: yes. Motorhome in the driveway: no.
If Flagstaff's camping laws spread to public property next month, when the Flagstaff City Council will vote on an amendment of police regulations that would prohibit camping on all public property, it will be a crime to sleep in motor homes, cars, buses or cardboard boxes parked anywhere in the public right-of-way -- street, sidewalk, trail or open space. Dave McKell, a sociology professor at Northern Arizona University, said the amendment "sends an absolutely repugnant statement" about homelessness in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "I would just think that the city could come up with other imaginative ways to deal with the homeless," he said.
Arizona Daily Sun (Flagstaff, AZ) 9/20/2005
Magpies with altitude
Desperate for any help in its bid to match off-field performance with on-field success, Collingwood has confirmed its players will head to Arizona next month for a pre-season training camp. The Magpies will visit the Northern Arizona University, which is situated at 2100 metres above sea-level and has a renowned high-altitude training centre.
The Sunday Age (online, Australia) 9/20/2005
Art teacher stuccos to old techniques for expression
Debra Williams says stucco art is a painting style used to enhance another art form. "You're taking a print or photograph, adhering it to a canvas and enhancing it to look like a true painting," she said. Using stucco and mixing it with different colors of paints creates the illusion of an original piece of art. Williams, 48, has been teaching stucco art for a year. The Litchfield Park resident has a degree in commercial art from Northern Arizona University but teaches because she loves getting others excited about this unusual form of expression.
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) 9/20/2005
Local youth competes for national Boys & Girls Club title
Ashley Echavarria has traveled to Washington, D.C., where she is one of five regional winners competing for the Boys & Girls Club of America Youth of the Year title. The competition began Monday, and the winner will be announced Wednesday. The national Youth of the Year will receive a $15,000 scholarship and will be installed in a ceremony in the Oval Office with President George W. Bush. Echavarria, 18, was named Southwest Regional Youth of the Year in June. She's now competing against youth from New Jersey, Mississippi, Wisconsin and Phoenix. Echavarria is a freshman at Northern Arizona University and is majoring in visual communications and public relations. "Making it this far has been really great, and I'm proud to be here," she said. "I never imagined making it this far, and it'd be great to win at nationals as well," she said.
Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, NM) 9/20/2005
Students' secrets revealed in college life study
Half academic study, half undercover exposé, "My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student," spills a number of our secrets. It's not exactly a "fun" study, but Nathan's insights, explanations and commentary on the state of higher education make "My Freshman Year" worth a read.
Daily Nebraskan (Lincoln, NE) 9/20/2005 |
