As I look back on all that we have accomplished – together – I can say with confidence that we are just getting started.
Last 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.
Indeed, here are just a few of the highlights that speak to the value NAU provides and demonstrate a cohesive vision that has garnered tremendous public and private support.
The Access2Excellence initiative was announced and will go into effect fall 2023, directly addressing affordability challenges and making clear NAU’s value proposition to Arizonans. Students from households that make less than $65K/year attend NAU tuition-free. And for all other Arizona students, NAU remains the lowest cost-of-attendance university in the state.
In tandem, we implemented an Admissions Pilot program to begin in fall 2023, which will broaden participation through an alignment of admissions standards with Arizona high school graduation requirements. Talented students in Arizona will now have a clear pathway to college and not be constrained by their high school’s course offerings. We know they can succeed, and NAU opened the door.
A new Strategic Plan, NAU 2025 – Elevating Excellence, 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.
An unprecedented investment in NAU of $81 million in public and private funds, from the Arizona Board of Regents and the NAU Foundation, is the result of our dynamic mission that responds to the essential needs of our region and our state, with funding directed toward broadening access, increasing attainment and empowering transformative post-college outcomes.
An additional $21.5 million in private philanthropic support, surpassing our pre-pandemic and previous record fundraising year, shows that Lumberjacks near and far are energized to be a part of the new NAU – and that is only going to continue to grow.
The New NAU Workplace was implemented with investments in faculty and staff because it is crucial to have a dedicated workforce in these challenging times for the economy and labor market. We need great people to deliver our mission, and we are securing the conditions to make that happen by putting our Lumberjack faculty and staff first.
On the athletic field, NAU is quite simply dominant. National champions, national records, Big Sky and WAC conference championships and Big Sky Presidents’ Cup(s) -we are champions inside and outside the classroom!
And, tying all of this together are the students we serve. In December and May, we returned to in-person commencement celebrations, graduating thousands of students who are prepared to succeed and will help shape a bright future.
We have an impressive foundation built over 123 years, which has 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 at the Presidential Installation on Sept. 30, Family Weekend that runs from Oct. 7-9, and one of my favorite NAU traditions from last year, Homecoming, on Nov. 4-5.
I look forward to the partnership and collaboration that will continue between NAU and our regional business community and to all that we will accomplish in the year ahead.
We feel your renewed support, and I can say with complete confidence we will not let you down. FBN
José Luis Cruz Rivera is the president of Northern Arizona University.
