May 20, 2012

Northern Arizona U. Overhauls Curriculum to Focus on 'Global Competence'

Northern Arizona U. Overhauls Curriculum to Focus on 'Global Competence' 1

David Wallace FOR THE CHRONICLE

Angel Lombardi, a third-year dental-hygiene student at Northern Arizona U., examines a 4-year-old's teeth at the Yavapai-Apache Health Center, as the child's mother encourages her to open her mouth. Working with different cultures within the United States helped prepare Ms. Lombardi for working abroad, she says.

By Ian Wilhelm

Flagstaff, Ariz.

On a recent Tuesday at Northern Arizona University, Car­ly Farr made an end-of-semester presentation about the woodlands of Zambia. Speaking to her classmates in "Forestry in Developing Countries," the junior said that with human settlements and the demand for fuel threatening Miombo trees and other flora, perhaps the country should try a "cash for clunkers" deal, encouraging Zambians to trade in their old woodstoves for energy-efficient ones.

Ms. Farr's ability to connect a