Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public university located in
Flagstaff, ArizonaFlagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is accredited by the
North Central Association of Colleges and SchoolsThe North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
As of fall 2010, 25,204 students were enrolled, 17,529 at the Flagstaff campus. The average cost of tuition for an full-time, Arizona resident undergraduate student for two semesters is $6,964.
The
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher EducationThe Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is a framework for classifying, or grouping, colleges and universities in the United States. The primary purpose of the framework is for educational research and analysis, where it is often important to identify groups of roughly...
clasifies NAU as a Research University with High research activity. NAU is governed by the
Arizona Board of RegentsThe Arizona Board of Regents is the governing body of Arizona's public university system, providing policy guidance to Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona and their branch campuses.-Organization:...
.
History
Old Main, site of Northern Arizona Normal School; currently houses an art gallery, museum, and offices
Initially named the Northern Arizona Normal School, the institution was formed on September 11, 1899. The first graduating class, in 1901, consisted of four women who received credentials to teach in the Arizona Territory. In 1925, the Arizona State Legislature allowed the school, which was now called the Northern Arizona State Teacher's College, to grant the Bachelor of Education degree. The school became Northern Arizona State Teacher's College.
Enrollment dropped sharply, however, as World War II dawned. ASTC became a Navy
V-12 programThe V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
training site.
Flagstaff campus
Perched at 6950 feet (2,118.4 m) above sea level, the main campus is surrounded by the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest on the North American continent and enjoys a four-season climate. Snow is common in winter, with accumulations most prevalent in December and January. Winter skiing is accessible at
Arizona SnowbowlArizona Snowbowl is an alpine ski resort located on the San Francisco Peaks, 7 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona. The Snowbowl is a long-standing center of controversy regarding its effect on Native American sacred sites and religious practices...
, an alpine ski resort located on the
San Francisco PeaksThe San Francisco Peaks are a volcanic mountain range located in north central Arizona, just north of Flagstaff.The highest summit in the range, Humphreys Peak, is the highest point in the state of Arizona at in elevation. The San Francisco Peaks are the remains of an eroded stratovolcano...
, 7 miles (11.3 km) northwest of Flagstaff.
Extended Campuses
Northern Arizona University maintains campuses throughout Arizona offering alternatives to the traditional learning experience including evening, weekend and accelerated classes. The university offers more than 123 degree, certificate, and endorsement programs in person and/or on the web. Extended Campus students are learning in-person in classrooms across the state at 39 different locations throughout Arizona. One-third of Northern Arizona University students are served through the Extended Campuses program.
Academics
NAU is ranked 78th on Forbes Magazines "America's Best Public Colleges" list and is ranked 460th overall on Forbes "America's Best Colleges 2010" list. It has 93 academic programs; and consists of six colleges.
In fall 2010, the top undergraduate degrees by enrollment were elementary education, biology, hotel and restaurant management, nursing, and criminology and criminal justice.
College of Arts and Letters
The College of Arts and Letters (CAL) houses the Asian Studies Program, Cinema Studies, Comparative Cultural Studies (formerly Humanities, Arts, and Religion), English, History, Latin American Studies, Modern Languages, Museum Studies, Philosophy, School of Art, School of Music, and Theatre. The college also oversees the NAU Art Museum, Martin-Springer Institute (promoting lessons of the Holocaust), Northern Arizona Writing Project, Ardrey Memorial Auditorium, and Ashurst Hall. The College of Arts and Letters Film Series has been providing quality classic films to the NAU and Flagstaff community for more than 9 years, and the NAU International Film Series has recently been established. Department faculty and students share their scholarly work and artistic achievement through more than 300 performances, lectures, films, and exhibitions a year.
College of Education
The College of Education prepares educators, counselors, school psychologists, and school administrators. Fields of study include teaching and learning (e.g., early childhood, elementary, and secondary), educational leadership, educational psychology, and educational specialties (e.g., bilingual and multicultural education, career and technical education, educational technology, and special education).
College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Sciences
The College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Sciences has 11 departments and a Quaternary Program; 13 centers and two institutes. It continues to expand its degree programs. Programs include Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Construction Management, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Education, Geology, Mathematics and Statistics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, Quaternary Studies, Master of Engineering, and Master of Science in Engineering. NAUTeach is the secondary school teacher preparation program for mathematics and the sciences.
College of Health and Human Services
NAU's College of Health and Human Services consists of the School of Nursing, and three departments
http://www.nau.edu/hhs
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences undergraduate programs include anthropology, applied indigenous studies, criminology and criminal justice, ethnic studies, geography, planning and recreation, political science, psychology, communication, sociology/social work, and women's and gender studies.
The W.A. Franke College of Business
The W.A. Franke College of Business' primary focus is undergraduate education, but it also offers a master’s level education and research opportunities.
Businessman Bill Franke's commitment of $25 million resulted in the renaming of the college in his honor. The W.A. Franke College of Business was fully re-accredited in fall 2008 by the national accrediting body AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The NAU program is one of about 400 accredited programs among the more than 1,000 throughout the nation. In 2006, the college moved into a new 111000 square feet (10,312.2 m²), LEED-certified building.
Freshman residence halls
- Allen Hall (formerly an upperclassmen hall)
- Cowden Learning Community
- McConnell Hall
- Reilly Hall
- Wilson Hall
- Sechrist Hall (an eight-story residence hall, making it the tallest building in Flagstaff)
- Tinsley Hall (beginning fall 2011, Tinsley will be a Freshman connections hall)
Family housing
These apartment-styled halls are for married couples and students with children.
- Campus Heights has 63 apartments.
- South Family Apartments has 145 apartments.
Residents of both family units are within the
Flagstaff Unified School DistrictThe Flagstaff Unified School District is the primary school district for Flagstaff, Arizona area and neighboring areas. The district has approximately 11,500 students and operates 22 schools; including two high schools , three middle schools , four magnet schools , nine elementary schools, and...
. Residents are zoned to Kinsey Elementary School, Mount Elden Middle School, and
Flagstaff High SchoolFlagstaff High School is a high school in Flagstaff, Arizona. It is part of the Flagstaff Unified School District.More than 160 students from various tribes attend Flagstaff High and live at the Bureau of Indian Affairs KinLani Dormitory....
.
Athletics
Student athletes go on to compete at national, international, and professional levels in football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, track and field, tennis, swimming and diving. The university participates in 15 intercollegiate sports programs. NAU teams compete at the
Walkup SkydomeThe J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome is an indoor multi-purpose stadium in Flagstaff, Arizona, on the campus of Northern Arizona University. Opened in September 1977, it is the home of the NAU Lumberjacks football and basketball teams of the Big Sky Conference. The seating capacity is 16,230, with...
, which is a multipurpose building which provides facilities for football, basketball, indoor track and field, soccer, weight lifting, lacrosse, student recreation, major concert events, commencements, intramurrals, and a variety of other university and community activities.
The
LumberjackA lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
s compete at the NCAA Division I level in all sports. In football, the Lumberjacks compete at the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA) level. NAU competes in the Big Sky Conference in all sports except swimming and diving, which is part of the
Western Athletic ConferenceThe Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
.
On Campus Activities/Student Media
NAU has more than 180 recognized professional, academic, service and social organizations; an intramural sports program; The Lumberjack student newspaper; and active residence hall organization.
The Lumberjack
The university's award-winning, weekly newspaper is an independent, student-run publication called The Lumberjack. In May 2007, the newspaper won a
Society of Professional JournalistsThe Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
national award in the editorial writing category for articles printed during 2006.
KJACK, NAZ Today, and UTV62
KJACK is available in
FlagstaffFlagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
on 1680 AM or online. KJACK reports to the College Music Journal and specializes in new music. NAU's televised news program, NAZ Today airs Monday through Thursday in Flagstaff on NPG cable channels 4, 59 and UTV 62 on campus at 6pm MST, and on Dish Network's UniversityHouse Channel (9411) 9pm MST. Since the shutdown of Channel 2 news in August 2008,
NAZ Today is now the only TV news source for all of Northern Arizona. UTV 62 is NAU's student run and produced television station.
UTV 62 runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week on channel 62 on campus.
The Dark City Times
In Summer 2010, a group of student journalists previously employed by The Lumberjack created an independent, student-run website called
The Dark City Times, in response to NAU faculty taking more control in the affairs of the student media outlets. The Dark City Times currently publishes news, life and entertainment stories, along with a variety of blogs covering politics, pop culture and student life. There are efforts being taken to create a print magazine version of the site. The site receives content from both regular contributors or students who want to work as freelance writers, photographers or videographers.
Choirs
The Northern Arizona University Choral Union consists of eight ensembles contained within the School of Music: Men's Chorale, Women's Chorale, University Singers, two Vocal Jazz Ensembles: Northern Voices and High Altitude, Vocal Chamber Ensemble, the Harold M. Harter Memorial Handbell Choir, and the Shrine of the Ages Choir, the premier choral ensemble that tours internationally.
Recreation services
The NAU Recreation Center provides facilities for all students, including a fully equipped weight room, a two-court basketball/volleyball gymnasium, five glass-back racquetball courts, an aerobic/dance studio, a six-station climbing wall, locker rooms with dry saunas, and conference rooms for meetings, classes, or activities.
In Fall 2011, the remodel of the NAU Recreation Center will be complete, creating the NAU Health and Learning Center in its place. Features include an Indoor jogging track, 38 foot climbing wall, larger weight room, multipurpose gym, and a cardio theatre. The Health and Learning Center will also include all of the on-campus medical services that were previously housed in the Fronske Health Center, a pharmacy, and the offices for Disability Resources on campus.
Intramural sports
Intramural sports are organized for teams and individuals and include flag football, soccer, volleyball, softball, racquetball, and backgammon. Sports clubs include sports such as rugby, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, water polo, and judo.
Movies and other events
Unions and Student Activities offers many services and events for the campus community, such as movies and the popular Friday night AfterHours program produced by SUN Entertainment. SUN also presents several concerts and special events each year and coordinates Welcome Week concerts. The College of Arts and Letters Film Series presents classic films every Tuesday night during the school year, and the College of Arts and Letters presents more than 300 music and theatrical performances, lectures, films and art exhibitions yearly.
Alumni
The NAU Alumni Association represents more than 115,000 alumni from the U.S.
Other information
The
Arizona CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the
NFLThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
conduct their summer training camp at Northern Arizona University's Flagstaff campus.
See also
General
Colleges
Student life