Instructional Leadership, emphasis: K-12 School Leadership (MEd)
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Communications

Communication occurs both informally and formally across campus. Our goal is to ensure communication is clear and concise. We realize that we receive a mass quantity of emails and attend several meetings. In case you missed something, we have a list of recent communications below organized by month.

2024

Dear Deans, Associate Deans, and ADOs,

We wanted to thank you for your invaluable feedback over the last few months as we work to make improvements to streamline processes at NAU. Please find two documents attached.

Document 1: Internal Academic Leader Selection Process

Revised selection process for internal leaders (we moved from a lengthy document/process to single page), effective immediately, please discontinue using the old process. The changes are minor and designed to make things easier and more efficient for you.

Document 2: Part-Time Faculty Guidance Document

This document provides guidance and suggested best practices for searching, hiring, onboarding, and evaluation for Northern Arizona University’s (NAU) part-time faculty. Part-time faculty, as defined by NAU includes, “Individuals whose appointment is 49% or less Full-Time Employed (FTE) and who are not eligible for university benefits” (Section 1.1, Conditions on Faculty Service).

Let us know if you have any questions. Our goal is to cover these materials in August at our academic unit leaders training (August 12th). Please share this information with your department chairs/directors.

Sincerely,

Dr. Sara R. Rinfret

Dear Colleagues

We are hopeful this overview of the Professional Project Reassignment Program (PPRP) is helpful for you and your units. For frequently asked questions, read this FAQ Guide. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Take care,

Dr. Sara R. Rinfret

Associate Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs

Professor of Public Administration

Babbitt Administration Center

2023

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (OURCA) has several opportunities available to support faculty engaging students in research and scholarship.

  • Interns-to-Scholars (I2S): Now accepting faculty requests for spring 2024 (closes November 6)
  • Submit your application for a research intern to assist with your current research or scholarship. OURCA will fund approved I2S positions for up to six hours per week for up to two semesters.
  • Pathways to Research Speaker Series (New): Now accepting faculty requests for spring 2024 invited speakers (closes November 15)
  • Pathways to Research is intended to help students connect the dots between their course content and potential career opportunities – all while understanding how research can intersect with the pathway of someone in their field. Faculty can request a speaker for their spring class by November 15. Three speakers will be selected from faculty requests and invited to the Flagstaff-Mountain campus to share their pathway in spring 2024. OURCA will cover speaker expenses and coordinate the event.
  • Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Development Grants: Apply December 15 – March 1
  • The CURE Development Grant is designed to increase the institution’s capacity to offer research experiences to all students through the integration of research in the curriculum. Faculty proposals to redesign of an existing course that incorporates the key elements of a CURE will be accepted from December 15 – March 1. Recipients will receive up to $7,000 to support the development and implementation of a CURE.
  • Save the Date: 2024 Undergraduate Symposium to be held on April 26, 2024
  • NAU’s Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity is pleased to announce the 16th Annual Undergraduate Symposium to be held on Friday, April 26, 2024.  The deadline for student registration will be March 15.

This is a great opportunity to engage our students in meaningful research experiences and help them see the pathways into graduate school and career. For questions or more information, please reach out to the OURCA team at ug-research@nau.edu

All the best,

—

John Georgas

Senior Vice Provost, Academic Operations

Northern Arizona University

Dear Lumberjacks,

This morning at a meeting of the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) in Flagstaff, I announced the launch of NAU Health—a new step on our university’s journey to educate and serve the people of Arizona. Our state faces a critical need for more providers in primary care, nursing, health professions, and behavioral health fields, especially in rural, Indigenous, and underserved communities. NAU Health is uniquely positioned to address this need through a holistic and innovative approach to healthcare education across the disciplines.

At the center of this initiative is the creation of a distinctive College of Medicine at NAU that will focus on educating primary healthcare providers who reflect the residents of Arizona and who will be inclined to remain in the state to serve Arizona’s increasingly diverse population. NAU’s College of Medicine will be intentionally designed to create accelerated MD pathways and affordable options for Arizona residents seeking to graduate and practice in-state with minimal debt. This includes plans for a tuition coverage program similar to the Arizona Teachers Academy, where graduates who stay to practice in Arizona after graduation will have their educational costs fully covered, as well as a curriculum that foregrounds cultural competency and integrates significant behavioral health perspectives to improve outcomes for patients and their communities.

In addition, we are expanding and enhancing our work in nursing and the health professions, with the goal of doubling the number of degrees awarded by NAU in these high-demand fields by 2030. To bolster our work in nursing at the state and national level, we are creating a free-standing School of Nursing. Already, the School of Nursing is on an impressive trajectory thanks to the leadership of Executive Director Janina Johnson, and I look forward to the official launch of the School of Nursing next academic year and to the strengthened partnerships and opportunities this transformation will yield.

In the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS), Dean Lillian Smith is leading efforts to create and implement a foundation of interprofessional education that blends public and community health into professional programs, a statewide ecosystem of pathways to health professions, and programming that extends and enhances impact for practitioners in rural communities. In reflection of this strategic repositioning of the college and its ambitious goals, CHHS is settling on a new name which we expect to be finalized soon: the College of Health Sciences and Professions.

NAU Health will be led by Dr. Julie Baldwin, a nationally recognized expert in health equity, who serves as executive director of the Center for Health Equity Research at NAU, is a Regents’ professor of health sciences, and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Thanks to a generous multi-year philanthropic gift from the northern Arizona-based NARBHA Institute, she will begin her tenure as the founding NARBHA Institute Vice President for NAU Health on Jan. 1.

As we launch NAU Health, we proceed with support from ABOR through the Arizona Healthy Tomorrow initiative, generous philanthropic gifts, robust and growing networks of partners, and other sources of financial and in-kind support paving the way. I am confident in our ability to meet the imperative before us and, crucially, to do so in a manner that does not impact the resources available to our current workstreams throughout the university, but rather encourages increased public investments in recognition of NAU’s value proposition. It is in this spirit that I can confidently state that NAU Health will be built to elevate and optimize our existing excellence and be additive to our university’s impact and reputation in Arizona and beyond.

I am thankful for the support of our partners and the leadership of Dr. Baldwin, as well as Executive Vice President and University Provost Dr. Karen Pugliesi, who has worked tirelessly for nearly two years to make this vision a reality for NAU.

To a healthy future for Arizona!

In partnership,
José Luis Cruz Rivera
President

Good Afternoon,

All individuals serving on faculty hiring committees are required to complete the on-demand course “The Influence of Unconscious Bias in Decision Making”. To access this course please log in to the Vector Solutions LMS. You will be directed to the CAS login screen.

  • Log in with your NAU credentials.
  • Once logged in, select “Extra Training” from the left side tool bar.
  • On the extra training page, select “Faculty search Committees”, then select the course title (the only course on the page).

To retrieve your completion certificate:

  • Select ‘Training History’ from the left side tool bar.  If the course is not showing, adjust the date range to ensure the date of completion is included.
  • Choose ‘View Certificate’ next to the course.
  • Right click on the certificate to print (either a hard copy or to PDF to save).

These certificates should be stored within the College.

For committee members or admin staff assisting with the faculty hiring process we also have an optional HR led training, “Overview of the Faculty Hiring Process”.

To access this training, please log in to LOUIE and register by following this path.

  • LOUIE > Learning and Development > Request Training Enrollment >
  • Search by Course Name: “Faculty Hiring Process” OR > View Available Sessions
  • Search by Course Number: “HR923” > View Available Sessions

This information is all available on the Faculty Hiring Webpage.

Please let me know if you have any questions,

Meagan Decker, MPA, SHRM-CP, PHR

Dear Deans, VPs, Associate Deans, Chairs, and ADOs,

We are providing this review/performance evaluation process and timeline for Future Faculty Fellows. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Sara Rinfret & Roger Bounds

Dear Deans, Associate Deans, and ADOs,

Thank you for your feedback to inform the final document of the faculty search and screening process. We appreciate the opportunity to engage with our campus community over the last two years to inform this document.

Thanks,

Roger Bounds, Sara Rinfret, and Meagan Decker

Dear Deans,

We have put together an FAQ guide for personnel requests. Please share with your associate/assistant deans, ADOs, and ADFOs. If any questions, please let us both know.

Thanks,

Drs. Bounds & Rinfret