Frequently Asked Questions

"I need a copy of my transcript. Can you send me one?"

Contact the Office of the Registrar at 928-523-2108 (press 3), or visit the Registrar's website and click on "Forms" to download the Transcript Request form. The cost of a transcript is $10.00, and there are options for rush shipping and other special delivery.

"I never got my diploma. Would you send it to me?"

Contact the Diploma department of the Registrar's Office at 928-523-5363, or visit the Registrar's website and click on "Forms" to download the Diploma Replacement Request form. The cost of a diploma replacement is $25.00.

"Does the Alumni Office do verification of enrollment?"

Again, the Registrar's Office is the place to go. Call 928-523-2108 (press 4), or visit the Registrar's website and click on "Forms" to download the Verification of Enrollment Request form.

"I want to get in touch with a classmate. Can you give me his address?"

Some alumni data is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the NAU Alumni Office prefers to honor the privacy of its constituency; therefore we do not give out any personal information. However, if we have a current address for your friend, we can either forward your mail or write a brief contact letter on your behalf.

"I'm an alum, and my son/daughter is applying for NAU. Is there a special financial break for children of alumni?"

Although there isn't an alumni discount as such, the Alumni Association has a $600,000 scholarship endowment that allows NAU to present 33 annual $1,000 Alumni Board scholarships, as selected by the university scholarship committee. These scholarships are only given to children or grandchildren of alumni, and are more often awarded to students not receiving significant scholarship help from other sources. The average GPA of a continuing NAU scholarship recipient is 3.72. Also, some other alumni have created their own private scholarship funds for students.

To apply for these scholarships, contact the Office of Financial Aid at 928-523-4951, or visit the Financial Aid website and submit a Scholarship Interest form.

How do I find articles, photos, etc. from your old site?

Visit our Contact Us page. Under the subject select "Page Request," and then describe the article you wish to find. We will do our best to locate it and send it to you ASAP.

"The university has had a lot of different names throughout the years. What are they, and when did they take effect?"

NAU's various identities mirror its growth from a tiny teacher's college to today's world-class university:

• Northern Arizona Normal School - March 11, 1899
• Northern Arizona State Teachers College - July 1, 1925
• Arizona State Teachers College at Flagstaff - July 1, 1929
• Arizona State College at Flagstaff - July 1, 1945
• Northern Arizona University - May 1, 1966

"As an NAU alumnus/alumna, how do I access library resources over the web?"

At this time Cline Library does not provide remote access to library databases or paid electronic resources to alumni. "Alums are welcome to come into the Library and use these resources, but because of license agreements for the paid resources, remote access is only provided to currently enrolled/employed students, staff and faculty affiliated with NAU." Bruce Palmer, head of library tech services, adds: "The cost of providing access to these resources is generally based on FTE enrollment, or the number of potential users; the higher the number of potential users, the higher the cost. The current Library acquisitions budget is not able to support the additional costs that would result from adding the number of NAU alumni to the FTE enrollment figure. The Library continues to explore various options for providing access to alumni, but we have not, as yet, found a feasible solution. Should anything change around this issue in the future we will work with the Office of Alumni Relations to communicate these changes to all alumni."

"Do you have statistics on the total number of NAU alumni?"

Here are some alumni statistics as of September 2008:

Total Alumni - 117,518
Deceased - 4,099
Living - 113,419
Total Addressable Alumni - 105,548
Addressable Alumni in Arizona - 65,854
Multicultural Alumni (self-identified) - 15,742
Asian-American - 2,033
African-American - 1,494
Hispanic - 8,225
Native American - 3,990

"I've been receiving 'junk mail' and phone calls from insurance companies, credit cards, etc., who say that they represent the NAU Alumni Association. Are you guys selling my name? How do I get off these lists?"

The Alumni Association does not "sell" its list, but like many other universities we have contracted a number of relationships with various service providers -- so-called "affinity partners" -- that we think might be of interest to our alums, and these companies are authorized to send mailings to our alums on our behalf. These are, of course, exclusive arrangements; it is illegal for any of these partners to sell our list or "mine" them for any purpose.

To opt out from receiving these offers, please contact the Alumni Office toll-free at 888-628-2586 or e-mail susan.obrzut@nau.edu. Be sure to specify that you wish to be removed from the affinity partner mail and/or phone lists.

"I'm a bit confused on the usage of the word 'alumni.' What's the correct way to address a male, female, group, etc.?"

The Latin word "alumni" is actually "alumnus, -a,-um," meaning the masculine, feminine and neuter (don't ask!) singular forms. The plural is alumni (masculine) and alumnae (feminine). According to our handy American Heritage Dictionary, "Most commonly, alumni is used for graduates of both sexes." Here at the NAU Alumni Office, you'll usually find us endeavoring a modicum of correctness, calling a male graduate "alumnus" and his two female buddies "alumnae." The exception is when we follow the dictionary paradigm and refer to the general group as "alumni" rather than "alumni/ae." And yes, sometimes we'll cop out and designate everyone "alums," which is our prerogative as dedicated practitioners of American, that truly dynamic and evolving dialect.

"I'm curious about the NAU lumberjack statues at the Skydome, and I think I've seen them in other places. Where do they come from?"

According to one of our alums, Jud Ruhl, '73, "The Lumberjack figures in the Dome were the first of their kind, and were built for the Paul Bunyan Cafe -- later the Lumberjack, now Granny's Closet. The statues were created by a Bob Prewitt, who later sold the forms to Steve Dashew. He went on to use that basic form in various costumes for several oil company promotions and other commercial uses." Jud recommends looking up the full story at www.roadsideamerica.com/muffler/origin1.html.

"Are there any celebrities or well-known people who attended NAU?"

R.C. Gorman, Artist and Sculptor
R. Carlos Nakai, Grammy-Nominated Musician
Diana Gabaldon, Bestselling Novelist
Andy Devine, Hollywood Character Actor
Steve Altman, President, Qualcomm Incorporated
Jim Bolin, Retired President, Rural Metro Corporation; Senior Investment Banker, Cornelius, Gay & Korte, LLC
The Honorable Raul Castro, Former Governor of Arizona and U.S. Ambassador
Dr. Lattie Coor, Former President, Arizona State University
Phillip Hildebrand, Co-Head, Life and Annuity, New York Life Insurance
Mark Layton, CEO PFSWeb and Chairman of the Board, Daisytek International
Joella Jean Mahoney, Artist
Donald Murray, Retired Group Vice President, Clorox Corporation
Dwight W. Patterson, Founder, Arizona Cactus League (deceased)
The Honorable Wilson C. Riles, Former California Superintendent of Public Instruction and first African-American to serve in an executive position in California Government (deceased)
The Honorable Jose de Jesus Rivera, U.S. Attorney for Arizona
Claudio Sanchez, Education Correspondent, National Public Radio
Thomas P. Smith, President and Director, Taser International
The Honorable John T. Sprott, Former U.S. Ambassador
Mark Thatcher, CEO and Founder, Teva Sport Sandals