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AIHEC Welcomes Two New Tribal College Members: Ilisagvik College and College of the Muscogee Nation
Alexandria, VA: The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) has admitted Ilisagvik College (Barrow, AK) and the College of the Muscogee Nation (Okmulgee, OK) as new members of the organization.
The AIHEC Board of Directors voted to accept Ilisagvik College as a “regular” member after sending a team to visit the college to determine eligibility. To become a regular member of AIHEC, a college must meet several criteria. It must be chartered by a federally recognized American Indian tribe or an American Indian, Eskimo, or Alaska Native community; governed solely by American Indians, Eskimo or Alaska Natives; and it must have a majority of American Indian, Eskimo, or Alaska Native students. In addition, regular members must be accredited or a candidate for accreditation.
Established in 1995, Ilisagvik College is fully accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities as a two-year community college and serves a largely Iñupiat Eskimo student population. President Beverly Grinage explained: “Ilisagvik College is the only institution dedicated to serving the post-secondary training and education needs of Alaska’s North Slope. We are grounded in Iñupiaq values and committed to helping our residents assume professional control of our homeland. Our goal at Ilisagvik is to help our North Slope residents attain permanent employment on the North Slope, while strengthening and perpetuating our Iñupiaq culture, language, values and traditions.” Ilisagvik is the first and only federally recognized tribal college in Alaska.
Following an AIHEC team site visit to the College of Muscogee Nation, the AIHEC Board also voted to accept the College of the Muscogee Nation (CMN) as an “associate” member, which means the college has met general eligibility criteria for AIHEC membership and has taken initial steps toward seeking full accreditation. CMN was established in 2004 to serve as the institution of higher education for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, emphasizing Native culture, values, language and self-determination. CMN is the second tribal college in Oklahoma to be admitted. The Muscogee Nation is actively supporting the efforts of CMN in moving forward with North Central Accreditation processes. Currently, the institution has established a partnership with the Oklahoma State University system to utilize their accredited courses.
Dr. Gerald Gipp, AIHEC Executive Director, welcomed the new colleges and said, “These two new colleges represent the continuing growth of the Tribal College Movement. We understand that not all tribal communities can build their own college; however, we expect to see an increase in the number of new tribal colleges over the next decade.” Dr. Gipp added: “With the addition of our first member institution from Alaska, the advocacy base for the tribal college movement and for AIHEC is increased to 14 states.”
About AIHEC:
Founded in 1972 by the presidents of the nation’s first six Tribal Colleges, as an informal collaboration among member colleges, AIHEC is comprised of 36 colleges in the United States and one Canadian institution. AIHEC is the collective spirit and unifying voice of our nation’s Tribal Colleges and Universities. AIHEC provides leadership and influences public policy on American Indian higher education issues through advocacy, research and program initiatives; promotes and strengthens Indigenous languages, cultures, communities and tribal nations; and through its unique position, serves member institutions and emerging Tribal Colleges and Universities. For additional information, please visit www.aihec.org.
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