Northern Arizona University

NAU Gift Spotlight

More information on President's Circle and President's Associates

The Flagstaff Medical Center Foundation (FMC) and Northern Arizona University’s School of Nursing (SON) share a vision for safe, quality healthcare in northern Arizona. This has led FMC to support NAU’s state-of-the-art simulation labs. These labs, according to NAU’s Simulation Specialist Bobby Eccleston, MSN, RN, create an important bridge between nursing education and nursing practice. “Working in the simulation lab allows faculty to better understand students’ comprehension of treatment scenarios while in a safe and non-threatening environment, something that cannot be accomplished in a real hospital setting,” Eccleston explains. “Our patient simulator mannequins have a reset button, real human patients do not.” Thus, NAU is better able to prepare health professionals who have outstanding nursing knowledge, precision clinical judgment, and a sturdy mechanism for tracking improvement. FMC’s Vice President of Development, Dr. Rick Smith, BS ’72, MS ’78, says that FMC is “pleased to support NAU with the Sim Man instructional component. We have a long successful partnership, and FMC is proud to include the Sim Man project as part of this collaboration.” Healthcare in northern Arizona can only get better with partnerships like these. Thanks again FMC!

Marcey Olajos, ’75 BS, has kept her philanthropic sites on Northern Arizona University since 1987, and her 25 years of consistent generosity has culminated in a stalwart gift, one that will enhance both NAU and the Colorado Plateau forever. Marcey created and endowed the “Chair of Enviornmental Science and Policy for the Southwest” which honors her father Charles Olajos and former NAU professor Ted Goslow. Marcey wants NAU’s prominence in environmental conservation solidified and extended through this Chair, thus it will support interdisciplinary work that links scientific research with public policy. The gift represents Marcey’s lifelong commitment to sustainability in the Southwest and it reflects NAU’s commitment to the environmental vitality of communities in northern Arizona. The Olajos/Goslow Chair is in the College of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences, and the first holder is Dr. Tom Sisk, professor of ecology. Dr. Sisk’s work brings together ranchers, environmentalists, and policy makers, and he sees this gift as a strong way to combine NAU’s history of excellence in environmental conservation with new efforts to safeguard our land, water, and natural resources. This gift is transformational, and NAU’s gratitude immense. Thank you, Marcey Olajos!

Johnson Scholarship Foundation sees NAU’s mission to become the nation’s leading university serving Native Americans in perfect alignment with the Johnson Scholarship Foundation’s mission to empower people to become more independent, especially American Indians and disabled people. Sherry Salway Black, board member (pictured), knows their work helps students understand the economic forces effecting Reservations and then develop those economies to achieve a better quality of life. In fact, Cindy Bitsui, ’11 BS, sees the Johnson Scholarship support as “heaven sent.” The Navajo Reservation has a deficiency of qualified accountants, Cindy says, so she returned to NAU to receive her second BS, this one in accounting. R. Malcolm MacLeod, President and CEO (pictured), sees the Johnson Scholarship Foundation as “simply the investors” in what he believes is most important: NAU students, and the opportunity to get to know and work with them.

Dr. John Wettaw came to NAU in 1967 and insists that he is “just a chemistry professor,” but to Northern Arizona University he is much more. He served Arizona’s legislature for 28 years supporting higher education; he is a role model instructor, having had 15,000 students in his classroom; he pushed forward funding for NAU’s much-needed chemistry building which Arizona named in his honor, and he founded the Nancy and Henry Wettaw Chemistry Scholarship, honoring his parents. This endowed fund supports hundreds of NAU students and will do so in perpetuity, an ample reflection of Wettaw’s humble generosity. “Giving back enhances your education, your future in the profession, and your life,” is the philosophy he passes on to his students. In fact, Dr. Kim Gibson, ’00 BS, a Flagstaff pharmacist, brings the philosophy to her career as she mentors new pharmacists at the Flagstaff Medical Center. “Through Dr. Wettaw I learned the importance of using my education to assist others in their endeavors to succeed.”

From the minute Robin Felton, ’84 BS, arrived at NAU from Detroit in 1980, she knew she was in the right place. With the small, beautiful campus and attentive faculty she felt “embraced” and is proud to have learned “how to go out there in the world and be the best person [she] can possibly be.” And this best person strongly believes in giving back to NAU. In 2008 she and her husband Jim began the Alumni Golden Stagehands, a matching gift theater enhancement program, which positively influences students and colorfully embellishes NAU Theatre productions including 2009’s A Christmas Carol one of the first to acquire state-of-the-art special effects because of this funding. (http://nau.edu/uploadedFiles/Academic/CAL/Theater/Forms/spring10news.pdf) Nadine Lombardi, ’12 BA, a NAU theater major says of the Feltons’ gift, “It’s great that successful artists who graduated from NAU now give back fostering a new generation of dedicated artists.”

Eric Anderson, ' 81 BSE, and Carin Stevens Anderson, '82 BSE, say they would not be successful in either their business (SEAKR Engineering, Inc.) or their careers as electrical engineers, “if it wasn’t for our time at NAU.” As the top-notch specialists that they are, they saw a critical need in NAU’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department for equipment that meets modern workforce standards. Thus, they endowed an equipment fund and took the lead in encouraging other alumni to support the department’s technology needs. In addition to establishing this fund, they have supported Capstone projects, Eric sits on the Electrical Engineering Advisory Board, and he has also served as a judge for the College of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences annual Research and Design Symposium. According to Dr. David Scott, the Chair of Electrical Engineering, “Alumni like the Andersons inspire future graduates in many ways.”

Joe Cardone, '69 BS and Carol Kottenbrook, '71 BS, speak fondly of their time at Northern Arizona University. NAU is where they met, where they earned their degrees, and where, according to Joe, “We learned what we will advocate as adults.” Not intentionally, but not surprisingly, this creative couple landed in film, and having made their mark in Hollywood with recent films like Rango, and horror films like Prom Night, they proudly return to NAU as guest lecturers and supporters of the Electronic Media & Film Program. “Out in the real world, we learned that giving back is the right thing to do,” Carol notes, and Joe agrees. “Part of our success is NAU; it’s easy to come back, and to give back.” NAU is happy to have them back on campus and as new members of the President’s Circle.

Terri and Dave Hill, retired in Cottonwood, Arizona several years ago, and they quickly fell in love with northern Arizona, NAU, and the Lumberjacks. As avid sports fans they became regulars at games and events, especially football and golf. Impressed with the caliber of leadership and sportsmanship they witness in players and coaches, the Hills have caught the True Blue spirit and haven’t let go. “NAU rose above the rest,” Terri said. “Success breeds success, and here at NAU, we love to watch our future leaders out on the field.” It is with True Blue pride that they have endowed both a football scholarship and a woman’s golf scholarship, awarded for the first time this year. It is with honor that we welcome them into the President’s Circle. (Terri and Dave are shown in the photograph with Cary Grossart, Scholarship Recipient, and NAU President John Haeger).