Dr. Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet of the Navajo, or Dine, tribe appears to be the first American Indian woman to be appointed president of a mainstream university outside of the tribal college system. She was named this month to lead Antioch University Seattle from a pool of more than 40 candidates. She formally begins her presidency July 15.

Neither the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) nor the Council on the Advancement and Support of Education has a record of any Native woman being named president of a non-tribal college until now, but cannot confirm the information with 100 percent accuracy. The lack of such data could be said to underscore the dearth of native women in leadership positions among non-tribal colleges. Rather fittingly, Manuelito-Kerkvliet’s doctoral thesis examines the challenges faced by Native women pursuing leadership positions in higher education and the lack of mentoring available to them.

Manuelito-Kerkvliet says that by breaking through the traditional glass ceiling for women of color in higher education leadership, she will send an important message of inclusion and possibility to students and faculty.

“I want the school to be open to everyone,” she says of her plans for the university. Antioch University Seattle, located in downtown Seattle, is one of six campuses of Antioch University founded in 1852 in Yellow Springs, Ohio. It is a private, liberal arts school that emphasizes community service and social justice.

Manuelito-Kerkvliet is very excited about the racial and social diversity in Seattle and hopes to send a message that private universities such as Antioch are not just for the elite.

She was the first woman president of Diné College, the first tribally controlled community college, which is located in Tsaile, Ariz. During her tenure there, Manuelito-Kerkvliet successfully lobbied the Navajo Nation to increase tribal appropriation for the college from $925,000 to $2.1 million.