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 Around the CBA
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Arizona Rural Policy Institute
RPI Adds New Dimensions to CBA’s Outreach Efforts
After several years of planning, the Arizona Rural Policy Institute (RPI) has officially commenced its service delivery. A division within the CBA
Center for Business Outreach, RPI helps improve the quality of life in Arizona’s rural communities by conducting policy analysis and research on a wide spectrum of essential issues. RPI will publish research outcomes in policy reports for local, regional, and statewide dissemination, and provide technical assistance to communities for policy implementation.
RPI was awarded “University Center” status by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and received a multi-year federal grant to partially underwrite operational expenses. Additional funding has been pledged from the
City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, and the NAU Office of the President. Currently, the Institute is staffed by
Michael Lainoff, its founding director; Ann Keller, research associate; and
Jeff Peterson, research assistant. Faculty and students within the CBA and other divisions of the University will be engaged as needed for specific projects. RPI recently completed two projects: “Flagstaff Second Homeowner Demographic Profile” and “Predatory Lending: Profile & Analysis.” Pending and future projects include “Rural Arizona’s Taxable Lands–Rates, Revenues, and Values,” “Mohave Generating Station Economic Impact/Community Asset Survey,” and “Access to Health Care in Rural Arizona.”
“RPI fulfills a critical unmet need in rural Arizona,” says Lainoff. “Its outputs will provide policy makers with vital information and enhance the University’s stature throughout the region.”
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 Arizona
RPI
Founding Director
Levi Esquerra with Mike Lainoff
(right) at the Annual Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day.
Michael Lainoff serves as the director of NAU’s Arizona Rural Policy Institute. In this capacity, he provides administrative leadership for the Institute’s applied research, policy analysis, and technical assistance programs. Although new to NAU, Lainoff is no stranger to northern Arizona. He has resided in Flagstaff since June 1995, and served for eleven years as Coconino Community College’s dean of Workforce Development & Extended Learning, working closely with CBA faculty and staff on many collaborative efforts.
Lainoff holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (Creative Writing) from the University of Missouri, and a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction (Instructional Technology) from the University of Oregon.
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CAIED Event
On January 16,
Michael Lainoff, program director for the NAU-CBA Rural Policy Institute and Levi Esquerra, program director for the
Center for American Indian Economic Development (CAIED) attended the
Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs’ 12th Annual Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day.
Tribal leaders from the various 22 tribes were in attendance. As part of the event, Esquerra presented to a small group regarding CAIED’s work with the
Native Asset Coalition and tribal entrepreneurship.
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Levi Esquerra (left), CAIED’s director, with Hopi Vice-Chairman Todd Honyaoma Sr. |
From the Desk of:
Richard Toeniskoetter
CBA IT Manager
December 2006
Having about wrapped up the first year in our new building, I thought it might be interesting to share some of the data we have in IT regarding our technology usage. The building is keeping pretty busy!
We are averaging about 6,000 logons a week, with a user base of approximately 3,000 accounts. The typical student logs on about twice a day, with an average duration of about 40 minutes. The student lab in room 203 is the busiest place in the building, with about 200 logons per day.
Front porches (interactive, technology-rich spaces at the entryway of classrooms) and breakout spaces are unique to our environment, and we have been collecting data in order to research their usage more specifically. But at a summary level, it looks like we get close to 100 logons per day on front porches with a fairly short duration (averaging about 15 minutes), whereas breakouts get fewer logons (around 40 per day) with an average duration closer to an hour.
Our remote access has been increasing in popularity, as students realize they can access the applications they need from almost anywhere. Sun Global Desktop (SGD) replaced Citrix this semester and has worked very well. We show about 1,600 users have used SGD this semester, so we are reaching about 50% of our user population.
Several years back we made the decision to “quota” student printing, and students receive a print quota based on their enrolled classes. Still, the numbers are rather staggering, with all printing in the building approaching 1 million pages on the year. The student lab leads usage with about 225,000 pages this year, followed by the faculty with over 200,000 pages across their four printers, and the MBA’s at 28,000. To my knowledge, we are the only college on campus that grants our students printing without charging extra fees, and I think our students are pleased with the system.
And now on to 2007. |
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