STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN KEY AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT PROVIDE NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
In fiscal year 2017, Northern Arizona University made strategic investments to establish programs in behavioral, community health and health equities research; to further develop capabilities in the areas of big data and cybersecurity; to broaden our exploration of the solar system and beyond; to expand infectious disease, bioterrorism and microbiome research; and to build capacity in the area of ecosystem science.
As a result of these efforts, NAU’s ability to discover, create knowledge and innovate are all yielding significant return on investment. NAU has successfully attracted and hired nationally recognized scholars in these areas who enhance our research capacity and increase opportunities for existing NAU faculty to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects in new areas of investigation. In addition to generating increased external funding and growing NAU’s body of scholarship, these and other recently recruited faculty have facilitated the development of new doctoral programs in areas such as interdisciplinary health sciences, which attract exceptional graduate students and provide new opportunities for economic development.
