Dennis Mitchem NAU Retiree

"The challenge of our times is to support education,"

Dennis Mitchem shared one sunny afternoon from his home in Phoenix. "This is the land of opportunity and we all have the responsibility to get an education, but for some that is not possible without help."

Dennis, or "Denny" as he is fondly called, has a long and illustrious history with NAU starting from his days at Arthur Andersen & Co. when he recruited and ultimately hired the first NAU grad into Arthur Andersen (who then went on to become a partner!)

"We were so impressed with the quality and integrity of the NAU business majors, we kept on recruiting them after that!"

In the 1970s Denny was in charge of the annual audit of NAU performed by his firm. In the mid 80s Denny served on the NAU Foundation Board and then in 1998 came to work for NAU as the Corporations and Foundations Director from which position he recently retired. He continues to serve as a volunteer.

In addition to being an outstanding representative of NAU, he is also a member of the Heritage Society and is a President's Associate. Denny created a scholarship program for outstanding students in accounting and funded its continuation with a deferred gift annuity. Denny credits his parents for teaching him that philanthropy is important, "Both of my parents were dedicated volunteers to various causes. I grew up knowing that giving back to the community isn't a choice, it's just what you do!"