This spring has brought with it countless highlights, and as we prepare to celebrate our graduates, I wanted to reflect on just a few that are particularly meaningful to me.
Thank you for being a community that ensures our students, faculty and staff feel a strong sense of place and that our university can engage in the work that is necessary to fulfill our vision 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.
One indicator of just how much progress we have made toward fulfilling this bold vision is the attention received from Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who will be receiving an Honorary Doctorate from NAU at commencement in recognition of his contributions to educational access, success and equity through his philanthropic leadership. I look forward to shining the spotlight on the great work taking place at NAU during this visit and continuing to pursue the goals of Elevating Excellence for the benefit of our students, communities and state.
This spring has brought with it countless highlights, and as we prepare to celebrate our graduates, I wanted to reflect on just a few that are particularly meaningful to me:
We launched our Early Learning and Development Center in Flagstaff and intend to set the gold standard for early childhood education while also providing best practices and professional development for our students.
A transformational $5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, matched by an additional $5 million investment from the NAU Foundation, will allow us to implement the Seven Generations Signature Initiative and deepen our commitment to Indigenous Peoples.
Our federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution has been renewed for 2023-24, and we launched NAU en Español, the first fully Spanish-language university website in the state to better serve current and prospective students and their families.
We made two important leadership hires to advance strategic priorities. Dr. Justin Mallett will be joining us as the first vice president for Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement in June, and we also brought Dr. Erik Nielsen to our university leadership team as NAU’s inaugural chief sustainability officer to propel our carbon neutrality work.
The Arizona Attainment Alliance (A++) is already seeing early success with the launch of the universal admissions program and other initiatives that are helping promote student success and deliver equitable postsecondary value in every corner of the state through an innovative collaboration with the state’s 10 community college districts.
Finally, we made it through this record-breaking winter in Flagstaff! My thanks to all of the dedicated teams at the Arizona Department of Transportation, Coconino County, the City of Flagstaff and NAU who worked so hard in the toughest conditions. While we did have a few extra snow days, the work of our partners allowed NAU to continue its momentum throughout the semester and for our students to excel. Thank you!
We are honored to live and work in this amazing community and are ready to turn our attention to the incredible beauty, weather and activities that showcase the best of Northern Arizona summers. FBN
By José Luis Cruz Rivera, FBN
José Luis Cruz Rivera is the president of Northern Arizona University.