NAU Mission 2022

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2022

| azdailysun.com

NAU MISSION Letter from the President

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ast year—my first as NAU President and a member of the Flagstaff community—we had so much to celebrate, including tremendous accomplishments at NAU that advance educational access, equity, and attainment, as well as building relationships and partnerships within our amazing home community.

I continue to be inspired by the passion and friendliness of the people who call Flagstaff home and the beauty that surrounds us. The gift of being able to live and work here is not lost on me and my family nor the faculty and staff who proudly work at Northern Arizona University.

Thank you for welcoming our students back last month and for being a supportive host for nearly 21,000 students throughout the academic year. Like NAU, you help them grow into engaged citizens. I look forward to the partnership and collaboration that will continue between NAU and our community and to all that we will accomplish in the year ahead.

We have an impressive foundation built over 123-years and have tremendously accelerated this last year. As I look back on all that we have accomplished—together—I can say with confidence that we are just getting started.

I hope to see many of you around Flagstaff and at a few key upcoming events this fall, including Family Weekend that runs from October 7-9, and Homecoming, on November 4-5.

A particular highlight is a special ceremony at the end of September, the Presidential Investiture, that will bring together all of our NAU community to celebrate what we’ve accomplished and outline the road ahead—as we unveil to the world the vision for our future and make an unequivocal commitment to access and excellence!

The next few pages represent just a few highlights of our efforts over the last year, all of which speak to the value NAU provides, demonstrate a cohesive vision that has garnered tremendous public and private support—the bedrock essential to build on and fully deliver our mission—and, as I said before, they really are just the beginning!

Warm regards, José Luis Cruz Rivera

Una Carta del Presidente

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l año pasado, mi primero como presidente de NAU y miembro de la comunidad de Flagstaff, teníamos mucho que celebrar, incluyendo los tremendos logros de NAU para la promoción del acceso, la equidad y el éxito educativo, así como la construcción de relaciones y colaboraciones en nuestra extraordinaria comunidad local.

Sigo inspirado, gracias a la pasión y amabilidad de las personas que han hecho de Flagstaff su hogar y a la belleza que nos rodea. Mi familia y yo, así como el resto de la facultad y el personal que orgullosamente labora en Northern Arizona University, estamos conscientes del regalo que representan vivir y trabajar aquí.

Gracias por dar la bienvenida a nuestros estudiantes el mes pasado y por apoyar y ser un anfitrión para casi 21,000 estudiantes a través del año académico. Al igual que NAU, ustedes los ayudan a convertirse en ciudadanos comprometidos. Espero con entusiasmo la colaboración continua entre NAU y nuestra comunidad y todo lo que lograremos en el próximo año.

Tenemos cimientos impresionantes, construidos a lo largo de 123 años, y en este último año hemos acelerado enormemente. Al examinar todo lo que hemos logrado juntos, me atrevo a decir, con confianza, que recién estamos comenzando.

Espero verlos a muchos de ustedes en Flagstaff y en algunos de los próximos eventos clave de este otoño, incluido el fin de semana familiar que se llevará a cabo del 7 al 9 de octubre y Homecoming, del 4 al 5 de noviembre.

Un punto culminante particular es una ceremonia especial a fines de septiembre, la Investidura Presidencial, que reunirá a toda nuestra comunidad de NAU para celebrar lo que hemos logrado y delinear el camino a seguir, a la vez que le revelamos al mundo nuestra visión de futuro y nuestro compromiso inequívoco con las metas de acceso y excelencia.

Las próximas páginas destacan solo algunos de nuestros esfuerzos durante el último año. Todos ellos demuestran el valor que brinda NAU y la visión cohesiva que nos ha granjeado un tremendo apoyo público y privado (la base esencial para construir y lograr nuestra misión) y, como dije antes, ¡éste es realmente solo el comienzo!

Un cordial saludo, José Luis Cruz Rivera

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The San Francisco Peaks stand under the cover of rain clouds.

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NAU MISSION 2022

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NAU

ACCESS2EXCELLENCE

Beginning in fall 2023, NAU will directly address affordability challenges and make clear our value proposition to Arizonans by offering hard-working, talented students from Arizona households that make $65,000/year or less the opportunity to attend NAU tuition-free. And, because we are committed to access to excellence for ALL, NAU will remain the lowest cost of attendance university in the state for all Arizona residents, irrespective of socioeconomic status.

ADMISSIONS PILOT

In tandem with Access2Excellence, NAU will launch an admissions pilot program in fall 2023 that will maintain high expectations of academic achievement while aligning admissions requirements with the graduation requirements of Arizona high schools. In doing so, all students in Arizona will have a clear pathway to college and not be constrained by their high school’s course offerings.

VISION:

NAU aims to be the nation’s preeminent engine of opportunity, vehicle of economic mobility, and driver of social impact by delivering equitable postsecondary value in Arizona and beyond.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

Academic Excellence Student Success Commitment to Indigenous Peoples Impactful Scholarship Mission-Driven and Diverse Faculty and Staff Community Engagement Sustainable Stewardship of Resources

UNPRECEDENTED INVESTMENT

NAU 2025 – ELEVATING EXCELLENCE

Our new strategic plan was developed and is now in place to guide and organize our work behind a vision that commits NAU to being a leading engine of opportunity, upward mobility, and social impact. The collaboration of our university community and external stakeholders in bringing this vision into sharp focus speaks to the broad support we have for pursuing a bold and boundless path to the future.

NAU secured $81 million in public and private funds, from the Arizona Board of Regents and the NAU Foundation, to respond to the attainment imperative facing our region and our state. NAU will invest these funds with specific goals of broadening access, increasing attainment, and empowering transformative post-college outcomes for all.

NAU raised an additional $21.5 million in private philanthropic support this past year, surpassing our pre-pandemic and previous record fundraising year.

Clearly, Lumberjacks near and far are energized to be a part of the new NAU – and that is only going to continue to grow. We are appreciative of the engagement and generosity that will power our mission and future success.

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NAU MISSION 2022

Sunday, September 11, 2022 |

SPURRING COMMUNITY SERVICE

Northern Arizona University has a long and proud legacy of being a university that is closely engaged with the communities we serve. We pride ourselves on being a truly exceptional place to work—in part because of our Lumberjack community and the ways in which we support each other. Our faculty, staff, and students show up to give back and that is why we launched a new policy last year to give staff 16 hours of paid work time each year to volunteer in their communities.

NAU’S 10 YEAR CAMPUS MASTER PLANNING PROJECT

We kicked off a yearlong Sustainable Smart Campus Master Plan process in April. This comprehensive effort will set forth the guiding principles for future land use and development of facilities and infrastructure on our campus over the next 10 years. As we move through the planning process, there will be regular opportunities for the full spectrum of our NAU community to engage—including our Flagstaff community.

ATHLETICS DOMINATING

National championships, national records, Big Sky and WAC conference championships, a new Student Athlete High Performance Center, and Big Sky Presidents’ Cup(s)—we are champions inside and outside the classroom!

SERVING OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STATE!

In December and May we returned to in-person commencement celebrations, graduating nearly 9,000 thousand students who are prepared to succeed and will help shape a bright future.

Looking ahead, we have thousands of students joining us—including our largest first year class of Arizona resident students ever—along with an outstanding cohort of more than 160 new faculty members beginning their tenures at NAU this fall. We are excited to welcome these new Lumberjacks and to all that they will contribute in Flagstaff and beyond.

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