Northern Arizona University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Northern Arizona University
Established: 1899
Type: Public
President: John D. Haeger
Faculty: 1,492[1]
Staff: 2,248[1]
Undergraduates: 15,569[2]
Postgraduates: 5,783[2]
Location: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Campus: Urban, 738 acres (2,986,580 m²)
Athletics: 11 varsity teams
Colors: Blue, sage, and gold
Nickname: Lumberjacks
Mascot: Louie the Lumberjack
Website: www.nau.edu

Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public university in Flagstaff, Arizona in the United States.

The university's mission is to provide an outstanding undergraduate residential education strengthened by research, graduate and professional programs, and sophisticated methods of distance delivery. Northern Arizona University emphasizes hands-on experiential learning where students are encouraged to conduct research, author articles, participate in internships, study abroad, and volunteer in their areas of study.

As of fall 2007, 21,352 students were enrolled, 13,989 at the main Flagstaff campus.[2] Average class sizes are 38 students in 100-level courses; 34 in 200-level courses; 22 in 300-level courses; 17 in 400 level courses; and 12 in graduate courses. Average cost of tuition for an on-campus, full-time, Arizona resident student for two semesters is $4,845.

Perched at 6,950 feet (2118 m) above sea level, the main campus is surrounded by the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the world and enjoys a four-season climate.

NAU is governed by the Arizona Board of Regents.

Contents

[edit] History

NAU campus
NAU campus

Initially named the Northern Arizona Normal School, the institution was formed on September 11, 1899. In 1925, the State of Arizona recognized the school, allowing it to grant the Bachelor of Education degree. Following this change, the school renamed itself Northern Arizona State Teacher's College. In 1929, the name was changed to Arizona State Teacher's College at Flagstaff.

In 1945, its name changed once again to the Arizona State College at Flagstaff. A year later the college began offering Master of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. On May 1, 1966, the school was granted full university status and changed its name to the current Northern Arizona University (or NAU).

For more about the university's history, see NAU's Alumni Association website.

[edit] Academics

Ninety-one academic programs at Northern Arizona University let students tailor their education to any career. The university's pre-professional programs in law, medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and optometry put students on the fast track to graduate school.

The university consists of six colleges and the School of Forestry:

College of Arts and Letters

College of Education

College of Engineering and Natural Sciences

College of Health and Human Services

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

The W.A. Franke College of Business

[edit] College of Arts and Letters

The College of Arts and Letters encompasses everything from philosophy to music education, from theatre to teaching tolerance. The college creates an outstanding academic environment in which students, faculty, and the community experience the arts and letters as intellectual and aesthetic adventure. Programs include Asian studies, English, history, humanities, arts and religion, modern languages, philosophy, theatre, art, music, and liberal studies. The college hosts many productions every semester in opera, voice, dance, theatre, and more.

[edit] College of Education

The College of Education is primarily responsible for preparing professional educators at the university: “Our vision is to prepare educational professionals who create tomorrow’s opportunities.” In addition to future teachers, the college prepares counselors, school psychologists, and administrators. The college draws on the best practices of the past, experimenting with and researching new ideas, and helps professionals becomeleaders in education. The college's mission is to prepare competent and committed professionals who will make positive differences for children, young adults, and others in schools.

Accredited by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the college was ranked seventh in the nation for providing degrees in education to all minorities.

Fields of study include teaching and learning (e.g., early childhood, elementary, secondary, and science education), educational leadership, educational psychology, and educational specialties(e.g., bilingual and multicultural education, career and technical education, educational technology, and special education).

[edit] College of Engineering and Natural Sciences

The College of Engineering and Natural Sciences promotes undergraduate and graduate learning experiences that integrate science, engineering, and mathematics, sustained by a commitment to research, scholarship, and the creative application of knowledge. The faculty, staff, and students collaborate to actively engage in the possibilities and practicalities of their fields.

The college has 11 departments and a Quaternary Program, 13 centers and two institutes, and supports 300 baccalaureate degrees. It continues to expand its degree programs. Programs include Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Construction Management, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Education, Geology, Mathematics and Statistics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, Quaternary Studies, Master of Engineering, and Master of Science in Engineering.

[edit] College of Health and Human Services

The College of Health and Human Services promotes excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, provides students with a broad educational background, and prepares students to assume professional responsibilities as providers of health and human services.

NAU's College of Health and Human Services, the only one of its kind within the Arizona state university system, consists of the School of Nursing, and three departments:

Rehabilitation sciences: physical therapy, athletic training, and communication sciences and disorders

Health sciences: physical education and school health, community health, Bachelor of Interdisciplinary studies (BIS) in Speech-language Sciences and Technology (SST), diagnostic medical imaging and therapy, respiratory care, physical therapist assisting, paramedic care and medical assisting, and a Bachelor of Applied Studies in health sciences for allied health professionals

Dental Hygiene: a residential degree program and a degree completion program for licensed hygienists

The School of Nursing offers the following undergraduate degree programs: Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The School of Nursing also offers the a Master of Science (MS) family nurse practitioner specialty, MS nursing education specialty, and MS public health nursing specialty.

[edit] College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) teaches, discovers, disseminates, and applies knowledge in the social and behavioral sciences. The focus of the college is on human connections between students and faculty, academic disciplines, the college and communities, and people and their cultures. SBS helps students to understand the diversity and complexity of human experience via perspectives that are informed by the scholarship of the social and behavioral sciences.

Programs include anthropology, applied indigenous studies, criminology and criminal justice, ethnic studies, geography, planning and recreation, political science, psychology, communication, sociology/social work, and women's and gender studies.


[edit] The W.A. Franke College of Business

The W.A. Franke College of Business is becoming a leading provider of personalized business education. Though the primary focus is undergraduate education, it also offers a master’s level education and research opportunities.

Businessman Bill Franke's commitment of $25 million, the largest in NAU's history, resulted in the renaming of the college in his honor. The W.A. Franke College of Business was fully reaccredited November 5, 1998, by the national accrediting body AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The NAU program is one of about 400 accredited programs among the more than 1,000 throughout the nation. In 2006, the college moved into a new 111,000-square-foot, LEED-certified building.

The 2008 Princeton Review ranked the MBA program in three top-10 categories: No. 4 for Best Professors, No. 9 for Best Campus Facilities, and No. 10 for Greatest Opportunity for Minority Students. NAU also was ranked in the 2007 edition.

The college also houses the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, which prepares students for leadership responsibilities in hospitality-related enterprises. The undergraduate degree curriculum provides intellectual growth, communication skills, ethical awareness, appreciation of values and society, and professional knowledge of the hospitality industry.

NAU's School of Hotel and Restaurant Management is ranked among the top ten hotel/restaurant schools in the United States.

[edit] School of Forestry

The NAU School of Forestry offers a program that is nationally regarded for its unique approach to undergraduate education and is accredited by the Society of American Foresters. The school is deeply committed to further understanding and protecting the environment; its integrated, multidisciplinary approach prepares students for a broad range of careers.

The university gives students hands-on research opportunities in the cutting-edge discipline of ecological restoration. Graduates work at the forefront of natural resource management, setting national and international standards for resource development practices.

[edit] Distance Learning

Northern Arizona University maintains campuses throughout Arizona that offer numerous alternatives to the traditional learning experience including evening, weekend and accelerated classes.

For more than 30 years, NAU has provided higher education opportunities to students through distance learning. As a result, students have access to high quality, flexible degree programs that meet the needs of today’s busy students—often in their own communities. Through distance learning, the university is helping Arizona meet its workforce development needs both in urban and rural areas.

The U.S. Distance Learning Association, the nation's premier distance learning organization, honored Northern Arizona University's Distance Learning with the 2007 21st Century Best Practice Distance Learning Award. The award goes to institutions with outstanding leadership, innovation, and technology in distance learning.

Northern Arizona University currently offers more than 123 degree, certificate, and endorsement programs in person and/or on the web. The majority of Distance Learning students are learning in-person in classrooms across the state at 38 different locations throughout Arizona. One-third of Northern Arizona University students are served through Distance Learning.

[edit] Athletics

Northern Arizona Lumberjacks logo
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks logo

NAU's athletic teams have gained national prominence with their accomplishments. Student athletes go on to compete at national, international, and professional levels in football, basketball, track and field, tennis, and swimming and diving. The university participates in 15 intercollegiate sports programs.

The Lumberjacks compete at the NCAA Division 1 level (Football Championship Subdivision for football). NAU competes in the Big Sky Conference in all sports except swimming and diving, which is part of the Western Athletic Conference. All NAU students receive free admissison to regular-season home contests.

The Northern Arizona mascot is Louie the Lumberjack. The Lumberjack nickname dates back to the early history of the school. According to Harold P. Blome, who is the younger son of R.H.H. Blome, the second president of Northern Arizona Normal School, the name was taken from the men who were called Lumber Jacks.

[edit] Center for High Altitude Training

The Center for High Altitude Training at Northern Arizona University offers a world-class location to train in a fully-supported altitude environment (7,000ft / 2100m).

From the finest in elite training facilities to comprehensive performance services and sports medicine support, the center customizes and manages every component of every altitude training camp so athletes can focus on training—and winning. Elite athletes training through NAU have won 191 Olympic and Paralympic medals since the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Since 1994, NAU has hosted nearly 5,000 athletes from 40 countries in 15 different sports.

More than 75% of all athletes and teams training with NAU return for repeat training camps.

The U.S. Olympic Committee designated NAU one of only nine official U.S. Olympic Training Sites in the nation.

[edit] Flagstaff Peaks Aquatic Club

Created in 2003, the Flagstaff Peaks Aquatic Club (FPAC) is a non-profit organization that prides itself on the development of young adults and athletes. FPAC trains out of the Wall Aquatic Center on the campus of Northern Arizona University.

Coached by a group of talented young adults and overseen by experienced personnel, FPAC has grown into the premiere place in Northern Arizona for competitive swimming. Dave Rollins ,along with Andy Johns,heads the coaching staff of this up and coming swim team. For practice times and contact information, either CLICK HERE! or just click above.

[edit] On Campus Activities

NAU has more than 180 recognized professional, academic, service and social organizations; an intramural sports program; the Lumberjack student newspaper; and active residence hall organization. For a current list of organizations, visit NAU's student life website.

[edit] Lumberjack, KJACK,NAU Live!, and UTV 62

The university's award-winning, weekly newspaper is an independent, student-run publication called The Lumberjack Founded in 1914, it is the second-oldest newspaper in Northern Arizona. In May 2007, the newspaper won a Society of Professional Journalists national award in the editorial writing category for articles printed during 2006.

KJACK is available in Flagstaff on 1680 AM or online. KJACK reports to the College Music Journal and specializes in new music. NAU's televised news program,NAU Live! airs bi-weekly in Flagstaff on NPG cable channels 4, 59 and UTV 62 on campus at 5pm MST, and on Dish Network's UniversityHouse Channel (9411) 9pm MST. UTV 62 is NAU's student run and produced television station. UTV 62 runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week on channel 62 on campus.

[edit] Choirs

The Northern Arizona University Choral Union consists of eight ensembles: Men's Chorale, Women's Chorale, University Singers, two Vocal Jazz Ensembles, Vocal Chamber Ensemble, the Harold M. Harter Memorial Handbell Choir, and the Shrine of the Ages Choir.

[edit] Recreation Services

The NAU Recreation Center provides facilities for all students, including a fully equipped weight room, a two-court basketball/volleyball gymnasium, five glass-back racquetball courts, an aerobic/dance studio, a six-station climbing wall, locker rooms with dry saunas, and conference rooms for meetings, classes, or activities.

[edit] Intramural Sports

Intramural sports are organized for teams and individuals and include flag football, soccer, volleyball, softball, racquetball, and backgammon. Sports clubs include sports such as rugby, hockey, lacrosse, and judo. To learn more, visit nau.edu/imsports.

[edit] Movies and Other Events

Unions and Student Activities offers many services and events for the campus community, such as movies and the popular Friday night AfterHours program produced by SUN Entertainment. SUN also presents several concerts and special events each year and coordinates Welcome Week concerts.

[edit] Alumni

The NAU Association represents more than 96,509 alumni from the US.

Famous alumni include:

[edit] Notable faculty

A list of notable faculty and their profiles can be found here.

[edit] Other Information

The Arizona Cardinals of the NFL conduct their summer training camp at Northern Arizona University's Flagstaff campus.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Northern Arizona University Employees Northern Arizona University Office of Planning and Institutional Research, accessed 2007-09-21.
  2. ^ a b c Enrollment Highlights Northern Arizona University Planning, Budget and Institutional Research Office, accessed 2007-09-21.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Big Sky Conference
v • d • e
Public universities in Arizona
Arizona State University • Northern Arizona University • University of Arizona