Winter is here, there is snow on the mountain, and all is right with the world. In this issue we take a moment to thank all of the very generous alumni and friends of the CBA. We have had a banner year measured by the support of time and treasure provided to us, and hope we have been good stewards. We have funded student travel, faculty development, and support for our newest faculty. Once again, thanks to all of you.

We are excited about the startup of the Arizona Rural Policy Institute. This endeavor will generate non-partisan research and policy analysis for rural Arizona, and we hope it will become a national leader in providing solid guidance on issues that are shared across the New West.

As always, we extend a special invitation to come visit us in Flagstaff. We would love to have you meet our current group of students, a group characterized in a personal letter from Warren Buffett as “intelligent and decent young people [who] are going to do well in this world. It always makes me feel good about our country when I see a group like NAU has.” What better letter of recommendation can we ask for than this from Warren Buffett?

Take Care.

—Mason

Lanier’s Corporate Business Ethics Team recognized CBA National Advisory Board member, Fred Smith (middle), their PAC West Region Operations Manager, as one of three Business Ethics award winners for the first half of FY ’06.