The Sentinel Stallions Newsletter Spring 2021

SENTINEL
the
STALLIONS
newsletter
HIGHLIGHTS
spring 2021
Commencement
THECB-OER Grants to NAU
Winners of the Contests
Employees who Completed 10+ Years
Interviews with Student, Faculty & Staff

Message from the Editorial Board 3
Administration 4
Business Administration Department 5
Computer Science Department 6
Criminal Justice Department 7
Education Department 8
General Education Department 9
Gulf Language School (GLS) 10
Admissions Office 11
Athletics Department 12
Distance Education Department 14
Human Resources Department 15
New Employees Hired After 01-01-2021 15
10 or More Years of Dedicated Service 15
Employee Awards 16
COVID 19 Updates 16
Employee Benefits 16
Staff Highlight: Almagul Ainabekova 17
NAU Cycling Club 18
Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (IEP) 19
Library 20
Students Affairs Office 21
NAU’s Virtual Commencement 21
Student Success and Career Office 21
University Advancement and Development (UAD) 22
NAU Receives Major OER Development Grants from THECB 22
NAU Co-Sponsored International Women’s Day 2021 22
Faculty Senate 23
Faculty Corner 24
Faculty Interview 25
Students Corner 27
Country’s Discovery of the Semester 27
Student Interview of the Semester 28
Winners of the Contests 29
Contest 1: Create a Meme 29
Contest 2: The Best NAU Moment 29
NAU Rankings 30

MESSAGE
FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Though the Spring 2021 semester was full of challenges, it also provided tremendous opportunities for learning.
While some of us continued to struggle in achieving work-life and/or study-life balance, many of us became
quite comfortable with the new ‘normal’ and could meet our deadlines in a timely manner. But the ride is not
over yet, please hang on tight!
With this Spring 2021 issue of the newsletter, our efforts are to provide all those interesting updates that
anyone associated with the university would like to know. Please join the Newsletter Committee in congratulating
all those who worked hard and made receipt of major OER Development Grants from THECB possible,
and also to those behind the success of the first virtual commencement. We have added a new section of
‘Faculty Corner’ in this issue and you can also find information on the winners of the contests that were
announced in the Fall 2020. Moreover, you will get to know about our new employees and also find interviews of
a student, faculty and staff in this issue.
We feel very happy to bring out this issue of the NAU newsletter and convey our heartfelt thanks to all those
who contributed and made this possible.
Please email your feedback at editor@na.edu. May everyone have a safe and healthy Summer 2021!
Editorial Board
Shweta Shroff, Librarian
Dr. Faruk Taban, Provost and VP for Academic Affairs
Pete Tijerina, Lecturer, General Education Department
Furkan Paligu, Instructor, Computer Science Department
Omer Kilinc, Coordinator, University Marketing, Communications and Relations
Abdoulaye Traore, B.S. in Computer Science, Student Representative
Graphic Design
University Marketing, Communications and Relations (UMCR)

North American University is planning to host an Annual International Conference this summer on
“Future of Higher Education in an Online Environment.” The aim of this international conference is to
share experiences, learn about how higher education in different countries has been transforming and
what is perceived as a future of higher education in the online environment.
Spring 2021 enrollment overall stayed the same around 1000 students after Spring II recruits despite
several transfers and drops. Big kudos to the Admissions representatives as well as Financial Aid,
Records, IT, and ISO offices. Gulf Language School also keeps thriving and breaking records. Thanks to
its staff and faculty!
Speaking of Institutional Research data, in terms of enrollment statistics, NAU currently has 36%
Resident, 38% Visa holder, 19% US online, and 7% Abroad online. New Start undergraduate Retention
rate from Fall 2019 to Fall 2020 has increased to 83%. Students per Full Time faculty has reduced to 36.
Moreover, all courses taught by Adjuncts has dropped to 20%, 65% taught by Full Time faculty, and
remaining by NAU Staff. NAU offered 136 courses in the Spring and average number of students per
course is 18.
With a great sadness, we announce the recent and sudden loss of our beloved Board member, Mr. Ruhi
Ozgel, who was the longest served Trustee since 2014 and a true Stallion. This was a shocking news for
so many. He has been in Houston for about 30 years and initiated several community projects with
endless energy and huge enthusiasm for Houstonians. He will be missed greatly and remembered
dearly.
ADMINISTRATION

BUsiness
ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT
Two new concentrations have been added to Business
Administration - Health Care Management and Operations
Management.

COMPUTER SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT
The Computer Science Department has started hosting course material from
portal.na.edu and graduated from the Moodle legacy system.
ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and ACM-Women clubs organized many
activities during the Spring semester. Some notable events are:
A webinar on Mobile Forensics on February 23, 2021 by Dr. William Glisson,
Associate Professor and the Director of the Cyber Forensics Intelligence Center
at Sam Houston State University.
Python trainings every week and Ethical Hacking trainings every other week for
ACM club members.

CRIMINAL justice
DEPARTMENT
As the Spring semester progresses, the Criminal Justice program is moving right along with
learning topics related to Policing Systems and Practices in America, Correctional Systems and
Practices in America, Criminology and Issues in Criminal Justice.
According to the Criminal Justice Program Coordinator Mr. Alvarado, “As we move through the
semester, we have discussed current events and recent events that will help the Criminal Justice
system advance in the 21st Century. With the 26 students actively enrolled we look forward to the
Fall semester as we will be officially two years old as a degree program. We have taught seven
different courses so far and many more to come as the program advances. The opportunities are
limitless in the Criminal Justice career field and the program is on track to continue to educate the
future leaders in Criminal Justice.”

EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT
New concentration, Physical Education, has
been added by the Education Department.
A research project on ‘Impact of Online
Learning during Covid-19’ has been undertaken
by a Research Committee including Dr.
Karman Kurban and Dr. Faruk Taban. A survey
has been sent to all faculty and students and
data collection is underway.
NAU Education Department has reported out
to TEA after their 5-year visit in October
2020.

GENERAL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT
General Education Department would like to know from the student body
what existing courses they would like to be offered over the summer. Send
your suggestions at GenEd@na.edu.
FRSH 1311 Freshmen Seminar may be offered over the summer depending
on the interest.
General Education Department is working with peer mentors and tutors
privately to discuss any course topics, grades, or challenges affecting
student success.
Standardized syllabus
To promote uniformity, the General Education Department has created a
standardized syllabus template. The new syllabus aligns the General
Education’s 36 credit hour requirement courses with THECB’s Texas Core
Curriculum and Learning Outcomes. Furthermore, a standardized syllabus
helps students easily recognize course overview, course objectives, and
professor contact information. With this alignment, freshmen and sophomore
students will be able to transfer between NAU and most Texas
institutions without losing credit hours.

GULF LANGUAGE SCHOOL
(GLS)
Spring 2021 brought forth some great milestones for Gulf Language School.
The school continues to grow its enrollment, with a current tally of
more than 250 students.
The new Medical English course offering has been a success. There
are 30 international physicians in attendance.
Gulf Language School currently has 14 faculty members who are
teaching a total of 19 sections, encompassing both Intensive
English 8-week (IENG) and General English 16-week (GENG).
GLS Students’ online access to Townsend Press Textbooks reduced
their cost by 73%.
GLS is in the process of becoming a designated OET, Occupational English
Test preparation center. The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical
Graduates (ECFMG) has announced that it will accept the Occupational
English Test (OET) Medicine to satisfy the English language proficiency
requirement for Medical Board Licensing. The Medical English class already
incorporates the OET components as part of the curriculum.

ADMISSIONS
OFFICE
Although the Admissions Office has been facing a lot of challenges in this unusual time, the
efforts to improve its services continued and the department switched to a completely
different system managed by a salesforce organization. This system provides a lot of
opportunities for improved communication through social media and keeping all the data
online. The system lets the students see and understand clearly any information related to
their acceptances, enrollments, and missing documents for admission purposes.
Spring 2021 has been very challenging in terms of recruiting of students, yet very successful
in terms of a huge number of enrollments and new connections throughout Texas.
The Admissions Office coordinates very
closely with other departments to assist each
student and puts in a lot of effort to create
new programs for the recruited students to
increase and maintain their interest.

NAU Athletics continued to work hard and followed
COVID-19 procedures in place to keep all athletes and
coaches safe and healthy.
The Stallion football team held a football showcase camp at
Stafford HS for HS seniors and college transfer prospects in
December 2020. Around 40 athletes were present to
showcase their skills. Once the showcase was complete,
they were invited to the university for an open house and
NAU was able to offer 20 new student-athletes to register
for Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 semester.
Men’s soccer returned this spring after a 4-5-1 record in the
fall. This spring, they plan on going through weight and
conditioning training with some team scrimmages.
Football returned in this spring after a 3-4 record in the fall.
They went through offseason strength and conditioning
workouts. They are planning to have a short 2-3 game
season in April - May.
NAU men’s basketball started their offseason league with
Dub Sports on March 21, 2021. NAU has 2 teams (NAU white
& NAU blue) representing NAU. This will be a 7-week League.
Watch NAU Athletics Footballl Games
twitch.tv/naufootball
View home game photos
aliciamerrifield.smugmug.com/Sports
Visit GoFundMe campaign
gf.me/u/y2h3z7
NAU Athletics Twitter Page
@NAU_Athletics

NAU Athletics and NAIA
NAU Athletics is one of the most anticipated programs making history. NAU’s Athletic
Director Coach Apande stated, “We plan to be a part of the National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the near future, and we are currently playing a mixed
division’s schedule. This consists of NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, Prep, and Club.
NAU’s school spirit and pride are at an all-time high. The University has entered a new
era of academic and athletic excellence. We provide a high-quality student-athlete
experience for every one of our participants and believe that athletics plays an
important part in students’ education and overall development. We passionately
believe being a member of NAIA is a path forward for our institution and our athletics
program.
NAU Athletics was recently accepted as a countable opponent in 3 conferences in the
NAIA this Spring (Red River Athletic Conference, Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference,
& Sooner Athletic Conference). This is a great accomplishment for us so far. We
love the idea of getting the opportunity and experience of competing in a prestigious
organization. NAU would benefit becoming familiar with NAIA rules, game management
policies, and building up support within respectable future conferences. We are
currently implementing NAIA guidelines within our athletics and hope developing more
relationships with NAIA institutions will benefit towards NAIA membership. We are
dedicated and committed to the process.”
COMMUNITY SERVICE
NAU Athletics and Faith Lutheran 1st annual partnership bazaar, an exciting and fun
community event with volunteer participants from NAU was organized on Saturday,
November 14, 2020.
The Stallion football team planned a community service project with Legacy Church
and helped with the church’s food pantry on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 and Thursday,
November 19, 2020. Players and coaching staff got the chance to assist with the
logistics for the food pantry. Within these two days, they were able to help provide
over 120 families with food.
Athletics Department, in collaboration with Voss Family Clinic, administered a mandatory
COVID testing on Friday, January 22, 2021 , for any NAU faculty/staff/students
that had been on the campus the past 4 days.

DISTANCE
EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT
For the Spring 2021 semester, all courses were
delivered online. There were no face-to-face
classes.
All new students of the Spring 2021 semester were
requested to take the Online Program Student
Orientation course to get familiar with Moodle and
online education. It was a prerequisite for fully
online courses. Those who had taken this before,
didn’t have to do it again.
As part of NAU’s campus-wide student information
management system transition to Jenzabar, it
is a plan to migrate from Moodle to a new Learning
Management System, called J1 eLearning platform
for Fall 2021 semester. However, Moodle will be
continued to be used for the Spring 2021 and
Summer courses. To make a smooth transition
from Moodle to J1 eLearning, all COMP XXXX
courses including COMP 1411 and COMP 1412
took place on J1 eLearning for the Spring 2021
semester as pilot courses. Students who took
courses from COMP and non-COMP departments
were engaged with both, J1 eLearning and Moodle,
as non-COMP courses continued to be delivered
through Moodle.
Please contact Distance Education team at
moodle@na.edu for any questions.

HUMAN RESOURCES
DEPARTMENT
EMPLOYEES HIRED AFTER JANUARY 1, 2021
Alicia Cater - ACCOUNTS PAYABLE SPECIALIST
Alicia Cater got her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a
minor in Accounting from University of Phoenix. Throughout her accounting
career most of her experience has been in accounts payable. She has
over 15 years of accounts payable experience. She has an adult daughter
and one-year old grandson. She enjoys spending time and spoiling her
grandson.
Dilruba Kahriman - RECORDS OFFICE SPECIALIST
Dilruba Kahriman is a newly graduate teacher and newlywed wife. She has
teaching experience with different age groups. After experiencing her
major career path, she decided to follow a different route in her career.
She recently joined North American University as a Records Office
Specialist. She completed her undergraduate program in Math Education.
She is excited to work at NAU where she has graduated from!
Feyza Nur Bugrahan - HUMAN RESOURCES & PAYROLL GENERALIST
Feyza Nur Bugrahan has been working in the Human Resources Department
for two years and currently focuses on ADP Workforce with a
specialty in Payroll and new employee onboarding. She is an NAU graduate
having bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in
Finance and Accounting. Her interest includes photography and reading.
Hoang Nguyen – GENERAL EDUCATION FULL TIME INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Hoang Nguyen is proficient in six languages, multiple math degrees
and is on the Board of Directors for Data Ready DFW, a Dallas based
company whose mission is to help grow data and data science knowledge
among DFW area residents, especially minorities, women, and
low-income individuals. He has a graduate degree from SMU and
Master of Science in Applied Mathematics for Physics and Mechanics -
Petroleum Industry from Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour
(UPPA), France along with a PhD in Mathematics from Université de Pau
et des Pays de l’Adour (UPPA), France.

10 or more years of dedicated service
Kudbettin AKSOY
Barbara BAETHE
Mustafa MALDAR
Ibrahim SUSLU
Halil TAS
John TOPUZ
EMPLOYEE AWARDS
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WINNERS!
Employee of the Year
Teaching Excellence Award
Outstanding Faculty Award
Best Mentor Award
Biggest Foodie Award
Snazziest Dresser Award
Best Sense of Humor Award
Early Bird Award
Fitness Guru Award
Green Thumb Award
Edra Edwards
Dr. Wendy Schulze
Dr. Tawfiq Abu-Raqabeh
Dr. Karman Kurban
Ridvan Akay
Marc Passeneau
Dr. Tawfiq Abu-Raqabeh
Dr. Halil Tas
Kenneth Apande
Hafsa Kaya and Almagul Ainabekova
COVID-19 UPDATES
As of March 2021, NAU faculty and staff continue to work remotely. There may be times when it is necessary to come to
the NAU building. A face mask is required in ALL areas of NAU, except your own office space if alone. Prior to this, there is
a mandatory training in Starlink along with an attestation, listed below:
Form 1: ATTESTATION NAU - Read, initial and sign prior to arriving on campus.
Form 2: Starlink Certificate - Course - Upon completion of the Starlink Course, send completed certificate to hr@na.edu.
Form 3: Authorization to Disclose Covid-19 Diagnosis
These items can be found in ADP Workforce on the homepage and take less than 10 minutes to complete. Be on the
look-out for additional information for Summer and Fall 2021.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Did you know, you can register for ID/Legal shield just for being an NAU Employee?
Eligibility is for anyone who works at NAU, see benefits and explore more at NAU’s very
own benefit spot App.
1. In your Google or Apple App store search for ‘Benefit Spot” or scan this QR code.
2. Download the app.
3. After launch, enter company code NAU2020.
4. Always have your benefits at your fingertips.

STAFF HIGHLIGHT: ALMAGUL AINABEKOVA
Interviewee: Almagul Ainabekova
Interviewer: Anita Rose Garibovic, HR
Q: What is your focus at NAU, job wise?
A: I am a Database Administrator working with Mr. Dogruer to help
launch the platform for Jenzabar. Currently, we are working on implementing
the e-learning, payment system, sales force integrated
platforms. This will include automating the student paperwork to digital
platforms.
Q: What do you consider to be an “expert” at?
A: I have experience teaching over 500 students in Excel functions for
all levels of learners. I am also a great mentor to aspiring IT students.
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Navy blue
Q: Where are you from?
A: I am originally from Kazakhstan. I also received my undergrad from
Turkey and MS Computer Science with a focus on Data Analytics from
NAU and here I am.
Q: Tell us more about your journey to where you are now.
A: I began as a student worker and moved into the Bootcamp sector,
where we graduated over 60 students from the program. I moved from
Lab Assistant to Quality Assurance and promoted to Assistant Coordinator.
Now, I work as a Database Administrator for NAU.
Q: Tell us something we don’t know about you.
A: I love to draw! I draw people, freestyle, nature with pencils/sketching. I
don’t let people see this. I also love playing chess and enjoy visiting Six
Flags!
Q: What was your biggest challenge during the pandemic?
A: Time-management. At first this was a challenge but became easier
to manage as time went on. Also, I saw better communication amongst
my peers with the use of MS Teams and other outlets rather than
stopping by individual offices.

CYCLING club
For the second year, the NAU Cycling Club participated
in the Fort Bend ISD’s 18th Annual Zuhne Education
Expedition on Saturday, March 27, 2021, benefiting the
Fort Bend Education Foundation. The charity bike ride
featured rides ranging from 26 to 72 miles. All riders
went well above that in total.
Members from the NAU Cycling Club who
participated in this event are Edib Ercetin,
Karman Kurban, John Topuz and Erdal Caglar.
Virtual Riders who participated are Deandra
Travis and Anita Rose Garibovic.
If you are a cyclist and enjoy your mornings
riding on smooth roads for long
distances, the NAU Cycling Club invites
you to join them every Saturday in
Fulshear (mostly and weather permitting).
For more information or to be
included on future rides, please
email Dr. Karman Kurban at
kkurban@na.edu.

INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
& PLANNING
(IEP)
Office of IEP (OIEP) is happy to announce its completion of an application for
regional accreditation. Under the direct supervision of the NAU Administrative
Team, OIEP submitted 3900 pages of documentation for review. The submittal
is a major accomplishment and milestone for North American University’s
legacy and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the NAU community.
We are thrilled about this achievement and are anxiously awaiting to hear
back from the Commission.
OIEP is also delighted to announce North American University’s current
accreditation has been extended for an additional year by the Accrediting
Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). This additional year
outside of the five years previously granted in 2018 is in large part due to the
efforts of faculty, staff, and students. Your hard work in complying with policies
and regulations outlined within the Standards of Accreditation is a testament
to the Stallion spirit.
Other notable accomplishments for Office of IEP are the completion of an
expansion of distance education application which allows NAU to continue to
offer all courses and programs online during the pandemic. Additionally, NAU
continues to maintain all state and federal compliance reports which were
submitted during the November and December months.
Further, the Strategic Objectives Committee (Strengthen Institutional Effectiveness)
hosted Jorge Quintana (Sr. Account Manager) from Scantron, a
Technology Solution company, to enhance course evaluations at NAU. The
workshop was insightful and provided various options to streamline the course
evaluation process for the campus community. In late February, OIEP finalized
talks with Scantron to incorporate a streamlined approach for course evaluations
and surveys campus wide. The plan is to possibly adopt this new
platform soon for a summer roll-out.
One other notable highlight from OIEP is the Institutional Effectiveness
workshop held in December to uncover new ways to complete IE planning. The
Office hosted a Zoom call with breakout sessions and community feedback
was great.
Additionally, OIEP is diligently working behind the scenes on a master accreditation
database which will house all compliance files within a central repository,
at the click of a button. The master database is still in the works but will
have a lasting impact on compliance for NAU and will help the department to
continue to maintain compliance with state and federal regulatory bodies. Be
on the lookout for its completion later this year!

LIBRARY
It is little more than a year since the physical facility of NAU Library has been closed and its services
have been provided fully online. Despite many uncertainties and challenges, the Library strived to keep its
commitment of satisfying the information and research needs of all students, faculty, and staff. The
Library made significant efforts to not only enhance its online resources and services but also to create
awareness through various channels about them among the students, faculty and staff for their best
possible use.
The Library initiated and then joined hands with other academic departments in making efforts towards
providing affordable textbook solutions to the students. The Library procured many eTextbooks recommended
by the faculty and made them available through its online databases. The online databases are
available 24/7 through NAU’s 365 Portal. For assistance, please contact the library at naulibrary@na.edu.
The Library’s database collection expanded remarkably with addition of two databases: Academic Search
Complete and EBSCO Open Dissertations database.
The Library’s website got updated as well. Four videos have been added, which are:
· Virtual Tour of NAU Library
· How to Access and Search in NAU Library’s Online Databases
· Avoid plagiarism at NAU
· How to Access and Search in NAU Library’s Catalog
Furthermore, a new page on Open Educational Resources (OER) has been created
on the Library’s website, which is available at
https://www.na.edu/library/open-educational-resources/.
To make patrons aware about library’s resources, services and how to access
them, the Librarian made presentations in five online orientations, four classrooms
and sent several emails proactively during spring 2021.

STUDENT
AFFAIRS OFFICE
NAU VIRTUAL COMMENCEMENT
North American University’s 2020 virtual commencement, which took place on January 30, 2021, was a true
testament to our continuous commitment to excellence. In these unprecedented times, most university
activities were performed remotely, and the commencement ceremony was no different. Nevertheless, 271
students completed a milestone in the face of uncertainty. Furthermore, 61 students earned a Bachelor's
degree while 210 students earned a Master's degree. NAU assistant professor, Dr. Gonzales, led the tradition
as master-of-ceremonies. Dr. Serif Ali Tekalan, President of NAU, welcomed graduates and guest speakers.
Graciously, Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner and keynote speakers from all over the world accepted our
request to pass some of their wisdom and to grant a few words of encouragement to our graduates. They
spoke on the obstacles of life and illustrated the adversity we have overcome locally and globally. It was a
celebration of our graduates courage and dedication to academia.
NAU is receiving great feedback on its first ever virtual commencement. If you have not got a chance to
watch the broadcast, you can still watch it on YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzkoO9oc1gg
student success & career office
The Student Success Office is pleased to announce some of the initiatives to ensure
that students have all the necessary tools to be successful and produce a positive learning
experience.
The Career Services team provided a minimum of 2 monthly virtual sessions
where students either got engaged with industry participants and
got to talk to company representatives or this Office worked with
students to ensure that they were interview ready for their future
roles.
The Student Success Office placed an onsite TUTOR and
MENTOR during the Study Hall hours and the tutor could be
found in the STUDY HALL. “This is a resource that we encouraged
all athletes to use as they did not need a prior appointment
with the tutor. Students could walk up to the tutor and
have a chat on areas where they were struggling. There was
an onsite mentor as well that could hand hold students
and just helped them along” conveyed Dr. Singh, the
Student Success Coordinator at NAU.
The contact for the onsite tutor is - D'Heaven Domena
ddomena@na.edu and the contact for the onsite mentor
is - Broadrey Wright bwright@na.edu.
Apart from that, there was a list of other tutors available
to assist students on a needs-be basis and these would
be virtual sessions. For further information, contact the
Student Success Office at career@na.edu.

UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
AND DEVELOPMENT (UAD)
North American University Receives Major OER Development Grants from THECB
North American University is proud to announce it is the recipient of a grant in the amount of $110,000 from the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board (THECB) for the OER Course Development and Implementation Grant Program. The funding is
for the development of four OER (Open Educational Resources) courses: ECON 2311, ECON 2312, MATH 1314 and HIST 1302.
The faculty recipients are Dr. Oscar Gonzales, Prof. Rachel Gurrala, Prof. Larry Whittington, and Prof. Christopher Gerdes.
Dr. Oscar Gonzales and co-applicant Prof. Rachel Gurrala received funding for the development of two OER courses: ECON
2311 – Principles of Macroeconomics, and ECON 2312 - Principles of Microeconomics. Their work will include the creation of
twenty (20) test and question banks and incorporation of four (4) online economic simulation labs for use in multiple learning
management systems which include Moodle, Jenzabar, D2L, and Canvas Learning Management Systems.
Prof. Larry Whittington received funding for the development of OER course MATH 1314 - College Algebra. His work will
include the development of four textbook question banks that will be used in conjunction with OpenStax’s College Algebra
textbook. Questions that align with the textbook will be created and organized to follow the structure of the text. With the
completed question banks formatted for Canvas, Moodle and Jenzabar eLearning; resources including online homework,
online worksheets and online assessments can be created easily without additional cost to the student, faculty member and
institution.
Prof. Christopher Gerdes received funding for the development of OER for the course HIST 1312 - US History (also equivalent
of History 1302). His work will include the creation of unique discussion prompts for US History 1302 online courses. The
format of these prompts will work with the following systems: Moodle LMS and Canvas LMS. The OER will also include the
following: development of four discussion activities banks, six unit-homework assignments with worksheets and self-tests;
development of six video tutorials, and six video lectures.
The implementation of the newly developed OER materials will begin in the Fall 2021 semester. Other NAU offices that will be
involved in the development, implementation, and assessment process will be the NAU Library, the Information Technology
Office, and the Office of Advancement and Development. In addition, NAU faculty will partner with faculty at Houston Community
College for these specific courses which have been identified by THECB as high-level transfer and foundation courses.
North American University Co-Sponsored International Women’s Day 2021
North American University co-sponsored a virtual International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month program with the
United Nations Association, the Raindrop Foundation, The Links, Inc., (a women’s organization), and the Dialogue Institute.
The program included a keynote address by Dr. Teta Banks of NAU, and several women leaders in various professions. They
included Dr. Carla Braxton, Chief Quality Officer of Methodist Hospital; Ms. Lisa Langston, CEO of Fort bend Independent
School District; Sinem Guven, CEO of the Giraffe Academy; and Adriana Koch, as moderator.
The panelists discussed the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on women. These ranged from economic, educational,
healthcare, healthiness, and management. Women have been the most negatively affected, have suffered the largest job
loss, and are responsible for multiple roles including care for the children, care for the elderly continuation of work from
home, and their own mental and physical health. Panelists shared challenges many women have had to endure, especially
women in marginalized minorities. They also shared recommendations for women individually as well as collectively in their
communities. Dr. Banks shared the opportunities that NAU is providing in offering online educational delivery and outreach
programs that assist the community.

FACULTY
SENATE
The Faculty Senate is proud to announce a
few updates for 2021. Although we got off to a
rocky start due to extreme weather, NAU has
continued its incredible support for our
students, faculty, and staff.
The Faculty Senate had three successful
meetings from January- March 2021. In these
meetings, numerous topics have been
discussed and a few of them are listed below :
1. Discussed Faculty Handbook amendment about class overages and
decided on pay occurrence
2. Reviewed regional accreditation agency application process
3. Discussed OER Grants and helping future grant opportunities
4. Unveiled a Standardized Syllabus template for Fall 2021
5. Discussed the Moodle to Jenzabar transition and eLearning training date
6. Decided and discussed procedure of managing at risk students
7. Considered summer classes and course schedule
8. Examined the possibility of face to face Fall classes on campus
9. Reviewed class cancellations procedure due to weather
10. Discussed Academic Integrity
The Senate would like to thank all the Faculty Senate members and non-members for
their significant contribution in setting goals for 2021. We are looking forward to working
with everyone to achieve the objectives for this academic year.

NAU Counseling Services are available by Dr. Hart, licensed counselor for those who need either faculty,
staff or students. Please contact her via her email at lhart@na.edu.
Congratulations to Dr. Sabeeta Singh, a Business Administration faculty, on completion of her doctorate
degree.
Mr. Furkan Paligu recently passed the Ph.D. qualification exam from Sam Houston University. Congratulations!
Congratulations to Dr. Karman Kurban on getting his research article published in a prestigious journal
of the Texas Forum of Teacher Education. Full article is available at https://taote.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Kurban%202020.pdf
Dr. Ann Marie Smith and co-author, Lisa Hazlett, wrote the chapter called: "Arts Integration and Young
Adult Literature: Strategies to Enhance Academic Skills and Empower Student Voice: Interrogating
Boundaries of Sex and Gender through Readers’ Theatre Performances of Honor Girl" for a book to be
published in June 2021. Congratulations Dr. Smith!
FACULTY CORNER

Faculty Interview
Interviewee: Dr. Ann Marie Smith, Associate Professor of English, Department of Education
Interviewer: Pete Tijerina, Lecturer of English, General Education Department
Q: How did you get involved with the book “Arts Integration and Young Adult Literature: Strategies to
Enhance Academic Skills and Empower Student Voice”?
A: I wrote a book chapter with my co-author, Lisa Hazlett. The chapter is about using Readers' Theatre as a
strategy for teaching the young adult novel, Honor Girl. The book, Arts Integration and Young Adult Literature:
Strategies to Enhance Academic Skills and Empower Student Voice, will be published in June. I have been
interested in reading and teaching young adult literature (YAL) from the time I was a young adult myself. I
attend National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) every year, which is a conference where teachers and
professors learn from each other and learn about publication opportunities. My co-author, Lisa, and I wrote a
proposal for the book chapter. The editor liked our proposal, so we were asked to write the chapter.
Q: What was your motivation or inspiration in the composition process and how long did it take?
A: My passion for reading and teaching YAL motivates my writing process. With book chapters and book
reviews, there are set deadlines. Deadlines are great motivators especially when you write with another person.
The entire process took two months of back and forth writing between my co-author, Lisa, and myself. Then
the book editor and publisher wrote back with recommended revisions, which was another month of back and
forth.
Q: Any tips for young writers who are looking to get published?
A: Figure out what you are passionate about and focus your energies. Read writers you admire, and practice
writing at least one hour every day. Become members of organizations where you can get to know people who
are accomplished writers in the fields you are interested in. My co-author, Lisa, who I met through NCTE. has
been a supportive mentor for ten years, guiding me through the politics of academic publishing.
Q: Do you have other published works that we should look out for?
A: I published a chapter in another book last year (2020),
called Breaking the Taboo with Young Adult Literature,
Malo-Juvera and Greathouse (Eds). I usually publish an
article, book chapter or book review every year on
young adult literature or teaching young adult
literature. I have a book review due in a couple of
months that a colleague asked me to write for a
journal on teaching.

STUDENT CORNER
By Abdoulaye Traore, B.S. in Computer Science, Student Representative on the Newsletter Committee
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Students at NAU
As we all know, the coronavirus has hit our lives for almost a year now. Before that, people did not really realize how free
they were and could not imagine how bad it could be if something like this happened. This is the reason why many
countries underestimated the virus.
I have talked to many students to know the impact of the COVID-19 in their lives. Frankly, it has hit every single person
in a specific way. International students usually go back to their respective countries for the all-summer holidays but,
because of the global pandemic, the boarders were closed preventing them from going anywhere. Economy wise, parents
of some students got laid off from their jobs which made it almost impossible to take care of their children’s expenses.
For the domestic students, it was also a very hard and brutal change in their lives. They were impacted economically and
mentally. Schools had to find a solution so that students attend their classes and for most, everything became virtual. I
had a chance to ask many students if they wanted to go back to face-to-face classes like before, and their answers
were shocking, because almost 85% of them felt like having the classes online was much more convenient. Overall,
everyone was agreeing on one thing, the COVID-19 was something that no one wanted.
Country’s Discovery of the Semester
As announced in the Fall 2020 newsletter, we cover three
(3) randomly chosen countries in each issue of Sentinel
from 62+ nationalities that attend North American
University and present some facts about those countries.
We have chosen Kazakhstan, Mexico and Tanzania for this
issue of Sentinel . A student from one of these countries,
Tanzania, was interviewed and his answers are included in
the “Student Interview of the Semester” section.
Country: Kazakhstan, Continent: Asia
Kazakhstan, officially Republic of Kazakhstan is a Central
Asian country. Kazakhstan, formerly a constituent republic
of the U.S.S.R., declared independence on December 16,
1991. It is bounded on the northwest & north by Russia; on
the east by China; on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan,
the Aral Sea, & Turkmenistan; & the Caspian Sea bounds
Kazakhstan to the southwest. Kazakhstan is the largest
country in Central Asia and the ninth largest in the world.
Capital: Nur-Sultan
Area: 1,052,089 Sq. Mi.
Population: 18,755,000 (2020 est.)
Official Language: Kazakh and Russian
Religion: Islam is the most commonly practiced religion in
Kazakhstan.
(Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Kazakhstan)

Country: Mexico, Continent: North America
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is the
third largest country in Latin America, after Brazil and Argentina. It is bordered to the north by the United
States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the
Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico.
Capital: Mexico City
Area: 758,450 Sq. Mi.
Population: 126,424,000 (2019 est.)
Official Language: Spanish
Religion: There is no official religion in Mexico, as the constitution guarantees separation of church and
state. However, more than 80% of the population are at least nominally affiliated with Roman Catholicism.
(Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico)
Country: Tanzania, Continent: Africa
Tanzania is an East African country known for its vast wilderness
areas. It is situated just south of the Equator. Tanzania was formed
as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union of the theretofore
separate states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The Tanzania mainland
is bounded by Uganda, Lake Victoria, and Kenya to the north; by the
Indian Ocean to the east; by Mozambique, Lake Nyasa, Malawi, and
Zambia to the south and southwest; and by Lake Tanganyika,
Burundi, and Rwanda to the west.
Capital: Dodoma
Area: 365,756 Sq. Mi.
Population: 57,797,000 (2020 est.)
Official Language: Swahili and English
Religion: Tanzania is divided roughly into thirds between practitioners
of folk religion, Christians, and Muslims.
(Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Tanzania)

STUDENT interview
OF THE SEMESTER
Interviewee: Amon Tarmo, a student of Computer Science major with Networking as his concentration
Interviewer: Abdoulaye Traore, a student of B.S. in Computer Science, Student Representative on the
Newsletter Committee
Q: What is your name?
A: My name is Amon Tarmo.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I am from a small city called Moshi in Tanzania, where the largest mountain in Africa resides.
Q: How did you learn about North American University?
A: I came to learn about North American University through my high school career teacher in Light
Academy Secondary School in Nairobi, Kenya.
Q: Are you liking it so far?
A: Being a junior right now, my three years at this university have been pleasant and educative. Moreover,
the school has given me a chance to learn and interact with people of different culture.
Q: Currently, all our classes are conducted online. But, if you were asked to go back to face-to-face
classes, would you accept? And why?
A: I would accept that because, although attending school remotely has several benefits, the hardest
part of attending school remotely is the social isolation from my classmates and teachers. At NAU, you
always feel like you have a community around you, and it is tough to not feel that same sense of
community when learning online at home. Additionally, it takes an innate sense of motivation to get
assignments done in a timely manner when you are doing work online.
Q: How has the coronavirus impact been on your student life in general?
A: Honestly, the pandemic has both negative and positive impact on my student life. Positively, I have
gained more time to finish my work, had less stress, and more free time to dwell on my talents and other
activities. The main downside for me is the lack of clarity and communication between the students
and teachers.
Q: What do you think about NAU?
A: NAU has a community spirit that connects both students of all ages and the staff. The staff treat
students as equals and do everything in their power to help us as much as they possibly can on a
day-to-day basis.

Winners
OF THE contests
Contest 1: Create a Meme
First Place: Dr. Oscar Gonzales
Second Place: Ms. Anita Rose Garibovic
Third Place: Dr. Linda Hart
The First Place Winning Entry
Contest 2: The Best NAU Moment
First Place: Ms. Anita Rose Garibovic
Second Place: Dr. Linda Hart
The First Place Winning Entry
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS!

NAU RANKINGS
Top Ranking Among the Best Master's in Computer Science Degree Programs
NAU’s Computer Science Department has earned top ranking among the Best Master's in Computer Science
Degree Programs by Intelligent.com. To access the complete ranking, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-computer-science-degree-programs/.
#7 Ranking Among the Best 15 Criminal Justice Colleges in Texas
NAU's Criminal Justice Department has acquired #7 ranking among the Best 15 Criminal Justice Colleges in
Texas in 2021 and got featured in BestValueSchool.org’s page at https://www.bestvalueschools.org/criminal-justice-colleges-in-texas/.
#1 Ranking among the Best Online Master’s in School Counselling
#7 Ranking Among the Top 20 Online Counseling Degree Programs
NAU’s Education Department has obtained #1 position among the Best Online Master’s in School Counselling
2021 by BestCollegeReviews.org (https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/top/online-masters-in-school-counseling-programs/)
and #7 position among the Top 20 Online Counseling Degree
Programs in 2021 by BestValueSchools.org (https://www.bestvalueschools.org/online-counseling-degree/).
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