Though only officially on the job since the end of October 2016, Northern Arizona University-Yavapai Executive Director Richard Heath views every opportunity in the Quad Cities area – and beyond – as a chance for advanced education opportunities, workforce development and business growth and expansion.
“A primary position we’ve established is providing an affordable, high quality university education at an accelerated rate. We want our students to be able to earn a bachelor’s degree in as little as three years, while at the same time they are being prepared for meaningful jobs or for graduate school,” Heath said.
Heath emphasized that for 2016-17, full-time tuition for resident or non-resident students was $5,834 – a tuition savings of up to one-half that found on the home campuses of any of the three state universities NAU, Arizona State University or the University of Arizona.
“We have the most affordable tuition of any university in Arizona,” he said.
He also noted that many new financial aid options, scholarships and tuition discounts are available.
He expressed pride in the innovative classes on the Prescott Valley campus, which delivers personal attention and student-focused instruction. “Our faculty takes pride in knowing all the students by name. That’s something that started when this campus began seven years ago, and it grows even stronger.
Jeri Dennis, 14-year veteran administrator and on the NAU-Yavapai campus the past six, agrees with Heath. “When students walk in the door, we make a point of finding what their names are. It’s tough enough to go to a university, and even more so if you feel people don’t see you as more than a number in a class.”
As program coordinator, she now spends more and more time working with individual students to tailor courses and degree programs to meet their specific interests.
“We get quite a few ‘non-traditional’ students – maybe some of them are older and just now starting higher education after raising a family, or maybe divorced, or someone who wants to develop new job skills. Or sometimes, it might be someone from other institutions. The point is, we want them to know they are the reason we are here – to help them plan their education to develop real world job skills,” Dennis said. “I assure you – we keep a genuine open door policy for students.“
New sophomore human behavior major Adrianna Rodriguez from Paulden says she is an example of what she believes is a successful individualized counseling and advising policy.
“I was really scared when I started – whole different environment, some pretty competitive students and from a tiny town like Paulden to a city of 45,000,” she said. “Now, I feel very comfortable.”
Expansion Process Is Careful, Deliberate
Heath and Dennis both said that following the August announcement of NAU President Rita Cheng that she had dedicated more resources to NAU-Yavapai, expansion continues to occur.
“We’re expanding our commitment to Prescott Valley’s Economic Development Plan,” Heath said. “We’ll be hiring some more faculty. We now have four solid full-time faculty and about 15 adjuncts. Our enrollment is stable – about 200 students and growing. We’re really getting aggressive about internships, cooperative career counseling and solid job placement.”
Heath noted that cooperative arrangements with Yavapai College (YC) are crucial. “YC is integral to our university expansion process. We have excellent articulation agreements and some really solid dual enrollment classes so that students will not lose credits. We want to work with folks in the Verde Valley, too, to better serve the population there. We also hope to work with other county groups and municipalities.”
Heath said that his predecessor, Susan Johnstad, had transitioned from campus executive officer to associate vice president for online and statewide programs for
Extended Campuses. “Dr. Johnstad now has her office in Phoenix, and she is working throughout the state to expand the NAU mission even further. All of us appreciate the way we can build on the solid base she created here in the Quad Cities area.”
“Something else constituents need to know: NAU is one university, with centralized administrative processes for admissions, academics, human resources, financial-fiscal matters, marketing and so on,” he said. “Consistency is critical.”
Extensive Professional Experience, Background
No stranger to higher education and economic and business development, Heath had more than 27 years of working in community organizational development before coming to Arizona in June 2015.
Heath was an Army veteran before he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and, later, a master’s degree from Ohio University.
He was an adjunct professor teaching business and management at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Heath served five years as executive director of the Clark County Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., and then as head of the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission until 2015, when he moved to Prescott Valley.
Over the years, he served with many local, regional and state professional and volunteer organizations and groups. He won several awards and recognitions for his accomplishments.
Prior to joining the NAU administrative staff, Heath had been executive director of the Greater Prescott Regional Economic Partnership (GPREP). QCBN
For more information about Northern Arizona University-Yavapai, contact yavapai.nau.edu or call 928-775-4567
Story and photos by Ray Newton
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