The NAU Review — The role of moisture in redwood health, a Leap Year baby and NAU’s reimagined orientation

Feb. 29, 2024

The NAU Review. The official news source for Northern Arizona University.

NAU letters photo with the Class of 2027 on a football field

How NAU is reimagining the orientation experience for new Lumberjacks

New Student Orientation is now Lumberjack Welcome—an immersive experience that takes place the week before school starts and connects new students with resources and support that will help them in the first few weeks of school and for the entirety of their Lumberjack career. It’s an important piece of NAU’s commitment to helping 100,000 people earn high-value NAU credentials by 2035, preparing them to succeed in the always-changing Arizona workforce.

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NAU wins Great Admissions Redesign Challenge

NAU, one of seven organizations awarded in a national competition to transform how students get into college, will expand its universal admissions program to nine community colleges.

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President Cruz Rivera and three others sit on stage and discuss community college.

#DYK? It’s Leap Day!

What do you do when you only have an official birthday every four years? We asked Leap Year baby Afton McKusick how she celebrates her rare birthday, how old she really is and how she managed her 21st birthday, which didn’t technically exist.

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Redwoods with morning fog and sunlight coming through

How monitoring moisture leads to better management of redwood forests

Forest management is a continually evolving field that changes as we learn more about how these ecosystems function. A team from NAU’s School of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service has recently received a grant that will help expand our knowledge a little further. The researchers will study moisture dynamics in various stands of coast redwoods to compare how different management practices have impacted their resilience in the face of disturbances like drought and fire. This new information will help forest managers make better choices for the health and resilience of this charismatic tree.

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Janelle Peña standing in front of the Multicultural Mural

Lumberjacks Abroad
Chile edition

Senior Janelle Peña studied abroad as part of IGP, allowing her to earn two degrees: mechanical engineering and modern languages: Spanish. She shares about her experience, why she chose Chile and her favorite local traditions.

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A woman with a bandage on her upper arm that reads "HPV"

This March, stay HPV aware

Ahead of National HPV Awareness Day on March 4, Dr. Sandra L. Smith, medical director of Campus Health Services, discusses human papillomavirus, the serious illnesses it can lead to and the vaccine that is estimated to have saved thousands of lives since 2006.

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