Lyndel Manson, former Chair and member of the Arizona Board of Regents; Deborah Harris, former Flagstaff City Councilmember who worked at NAU for decades in various roles; Emmett Burnton, the 2025 Arizona Teacher of the Year; and the late Miguel Vasquez, a former professor of anthropology, will be recognized with honorary doctorates during four commencement ceremonies taking place at NAU May 9-10.
“NAU’s honorary doctorate recipients are all Arizonans whose careers are exemplary and who have demonstrated a tireless commitment to the public good, especially in advancing educational access, excellence, and attainment for the people of our state,” NAU President José Luis Cruz Rivera said. “They truly reflect NAU’s values, and I look forward to honoring their achievements and celebrating the accomplishments of the more than 5,700 graduates who will be awarded degrees at our commencement ceremonies.”
Vasquez, who died last year after a long career of advocacy and education in Coconino County, will be represented on stage by his son, NAU alumnus and Coconino County Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez.
NAU’s 2025 honorary doctorate recipients and commencement speakers
Lyndel Manson is a longtime Flagstaff resident who served for eight years, including as chair, on the Arizona Board of Regents, where she also co-chaired the Presidential Search Committee that brought President José Luis Cruz Rivera to NAU. She previously served as president and treasurer for the Northland Preparatory Academy Board of Directors, during which time the Flagstaff school was consistently ranked among the country’s top 100 high schools. She served as president of the board of the Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation and as a high school volleyball coach and currently serves as a member of Parker Fasteners, a Buckeye-based fastener manufacturer for the defense, aerospace and semi-conductor industries. She also held past positions in the investment banking, finance and healthcare industries. Manson is a graduate of Harvard Business School, where she earned her master’s degree, and Middlebury College, where she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Deborah Harris served on the Flagstaff City Council from 2022 to 2024. She started working for NAU in 1993 as the area coordinator for apartments and family housing in the Office of Housing and Residence Life. She later became associate dean of students, a role she held until retiring in 2017. Throughout her 30 years in Flagstaff, Harris has served on the Flagstaff Unified School District Board, including two years as president, and has contributed her leadership to organizations such as United Way, the Coconino County African Diaspora Advisory Council, the Flagstaff Police Department Citizen Liaison Committee, the Flagstaff Symphony, and the Southside Community Association. She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and the Flagstaff Alumni Chapter Kappa Sigma Sigma. Deborah holds a bachelor’s degree in business education and a master of science in education from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She believes deeply in the power of community engagement, guided by the principle that “to whom much is given, much is expected.”
Emmett Burnton, the 2025 Arizona State Teacher of the Year, is in his ninth year of teaching at Boulder Creek High School in Anthem. He received his bachelor of science in secondary education in history from NAU and his master’s degree in history at ASU. Burnton is the founder of gamified history company Duel of Fates, which redefines how students immerse themselves in content, ensuring that students of every level can engage in history. At Boulder Creek, Burnton sponsors the Anime Club, the Culture Club and the Model UN Club and is co-level lead of the Advanced Placement professional learning community for history. In 2017, Burnton was nominated for the Deer Valley Rookie of the Year Award and in 2024, he was awarded the Deer Valley Education Foundation Teacher of the Year. After an adolescence spent resenting school, he now embodies his mantra of embracing lifelong learning. His mission is to help equip every generation and individual with the tools to find value in history, the world, and themselves through philosophy and history.
Dr. Miguel L. Vasquez was a visionary cultural leader, educator and advocate for cross-cultural understanding. As a professor of anthropology at Northern Arizona University for over 35 years, he dedicated his career to working with Latino, Native American, African American and Southeast Asian refugee communities across Mesoamerica and the United States. He earned the NAU President’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the Community Luminary Award from the State of Black Arizona as well serving as an applied cultural anthropologist with the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office and the Third Mesa community of Bacavi to restore garden terraces, fostering cultural and environmental sustainability. Vasquez was a founding member of the Coconino County Hispanic Advisory Council, serving as chair from 2006-2011. Beyond academia, he served on numerous boards, including the International Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, Friends of Flagstaff’s Future, and the Museum of Northern Arizona. He was also elected to the Flagstaff Unified School District Governing Board. Upon his death in October 2024, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors approved a proclamation, “Celebrating and Honoring the Life of Dr. Miguel Vasquez.”