Tribal College Advisory Board Holds First Meeting

WASHINGTON — Agendas were set and board members were sworn in as 13 of the 15 members of the President's Advisory Board on Tribal Colleges and Universities gathered here in July for the group's inaugural meeting.
Carrie L. Billy, executive director of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities, said the meeting gave board members an opportunity to bond and begin developing an agenda.
"It was the first time the members had an opportunity to interact and talk to each other," she says.
U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley delivered brief remarks at the meeting. Additionally, Assistant U.S. Education Secretary Patricia W. McNeil presided over a swearing-in ceremony of the board members during the daylong meeting.
Board members established committees in five areas: institutional sustainability, public-private partnerships, technology, facilities, and education system collaborations. Billy says the committees will commission reports in the five priority areas. The reports are likely to be presented at the next board meeting, which is expected to occur sometime in the fall, according to Billy.
An executive order signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 established the board along with the tribal college initiative, which is based at the U.S. Department of Education. Under Executive Order 13021, the Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities provides advice to the President and the Education Secretary on how federal agencies can improve access to federal resources and programs for the nation's 31 tribal colleges and universities.
The board promotes access to high-quality education for economically disadvantaged students as well as the preservation and revitalization of American Indian and Alaska Native languages and cultural traditions. It also explores innovative approaches for linking tribal colleges with early childhood, elementary, and secondary education program.
Advisory board members are Alison R. Bernstein, Dr. Lionel Bordeaux, Dr. Tom Colonnese, Dr. Verna Fowler, Dr. Tommy Lewis Jr., Dr. Joe McDonald, Dr. Joseph Martin, Dr. Gerald "Carty" Monette, Debra Norris, Janine Pease-Pretty on Top, Anne C. Petersen, Faith Ruth Roessel, Dr. Karl Stauber, Richard Trudell, and Patrick Williams.