Over 25,600 households in the Flagstaff city limits, representing 53% of the households in Flagstaff, include NAU alumni.
Since my arrival nearly a year ago, I have learned that NAU has a strong foundation, a community that embraces the value of higher education, an incredible alumni network, and dedicated faculty and staff.
I am thrilled by the strong partnerships that exist and I’ve enjoyed connecting with many community organizations and individuals, most recently, the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Board, and the Alliance, which brings together leadership from the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, FUSD, CCC and Mountain Line.
The strength of these relationships was on full display last month, during NAU Giving Day, as I visited with many alumni-led Flagstaff businesses, as well as public and non-profit partners. The outpouring of support for NAU’s vision was palpable and particularly inspiring given the opportunities that are before us.
You see, Arizona has a college attainment problem and NAU is determined to address it head-on – giving access to excellence for talented and hard-working Arizonans of all backgrounds so that they can contribute to and benefit from our state’s economic boom.
To this end, our university community has been engaged in the development of a Strategic Roadmap, which will serve as our guiding institutional document and internal/external value proposition to our stakeholders.
And the vision we have articulated through this process is as bold as it is boundless, as we double down on the distinctive strengths that NAU can provide to Flagstaff and to Arizona.
One of our key goals is for mutually beneficial community engagement. That is, we don’t just want to think about NAU in isolation; we want to think about our impact on our communities and work together to ensure that we are true partners whose work benefits our home community where we live, work and operate.
Flagstaff is a case in point. We all intuitively know that NAU and Flag are a community of one, but the numbers help crystallize how the inextricability of our interwovenness comes to be: Over 25,600 households in the Flagstaff city limits, representing 53% of the households in Flagstaff, include NAU alumni. And over 35% of NAU’s own workforce are NAU alums.
NAU is also on a bold mission to expand access to higher education and close achievement gaps throughout our state. NAU is not just a Flagstaff-based university. Our 20+ statewide sites are primed to take advantage of this refined vision: we will be at the forefront of expanding access to excellence in education throughout our state.
We seek to systematically remove barriers, broaden participation, improve retention and momentum, and spur – through our tailored student support and robust academic programs – transformative outcomes that benefit individuals and drive social and economic mobility.
Some of our most recent actions include a new admissions pilot program that makes it clear to all talented, hard-working high school students in Arizona with a 3.0 GPA or above that they will be assured admission to NAU. Furthermore, we also recently announced that beginning in the fall of 202,3 a tuition-free college education will be accessible for every Arizona resident with a household income of $65,000 or below – assuring tuition is fully covered by scholarships and financial aid. Students living in approximately 50% of Arizona households currently meet this financial threshold.
These are our first bold steps and I look forward to sharing many more in the months to come.
I close by thanking you for your support of our university and our students, particularly our recent spring graduates who move on to their next adventure with pride in their experience and fond memories of Flagstaff and this wonderful community. Flagstaff is rightfully rated as one of the best college towns in America – and I look forward to building upon this foundation that makes our university great and our community vibrant in partnership with you. FBN
By José Luis Cruz Rivera
José Luis Cruz Rivera is the president of Northern Arizona University.