1. Engaging TCUs in R&E Networking August 8, 2017

2. EPA/AIHEC Council: May 24, 2011
TRIBAL Determination: Strengthening Sovereign Nations Through the TRIBAL Higher Education
We asked the parents, ‘How do you want your schools?’ That was the day something happened.”
Guy Gorman.

3. Vision for the Movement: advancing students + advancing tribal nations
Strong sovereign Tribal Nations through excellence in TRIBAL higher education

4. 37 TCUs – More than 75 Campus in U.S. – 16 States
Serving 160,000+ American Indians through academic and community education programs.
34 TCUs are chartered by their respective Tribal governments; 3 are chartered by the U.S. government

5. One Student at a Time… AA/AS degrees: 37 63% Female BA/BS: 13 37% Male
51% are 1St Generation
52-63% need DevEd
63% Female
37% Male
Financial Aid: 85%
Average Income: $17,637
Average Age:
16-24, but younger every year
AA/AS degrees: 37
BA/BS: 13
Masters: 5
TCU students bring family, history, & hope
In past 8 years, Completion up 32%, Degrees up 17%

6. Broader than Academic Education & Employment
UNIQUE MISSIONS:
Broader than Academic Education & Employment
Comprehensive Education & Social Systems:
Head Start
Dual Credit
STEM Retention: Participatory Research
Disease Prevention/Health Promotion
Preparing Professional Workforce:
Nursing: 2 TCUs lead Nation in AIs
Teaching: TCUs lead Nation
Native Environmental Science, Forestry, & Natural Resources
SUSTAINING TRIBAL CULTURE & WAYS of KNOWING/BEING:
Native Language Restoration
Land and Water Sustainability
Food Sovereignty
Cultural Traditions
Economic Impact & Job Creation:
ND TCUs = $182M to State’s Economy
Student Leadership
Advanced Manufacturing
UNIQUE MISSION OF TCUS:
ACADEMIC EDUCATION
SUSTAIN A TRIBAL NATION:
NATIVE LANGUAGE
CULTURAL PRACTICES
RESTORE TRIBAL COMMUNITIES AFTER GENERATIONS OF POVERTY, DEPENDENCE, AND OPPRESSION
TCUs are planting resilient seeds of hope for the future: they are nurturing and sustaining Native languages; helping to strengthen tribal economies and governments; and leading the nation in preparing critical Native workforces in fields such as nursing and elementary education.
TCUs are training law enforcement officers and working with tribal courts; and they are working to sustain our lands and environments.
TCUs have a real impact, not only in their reservation-based communities, but within entire states and regions. For example:
An economic impact analysis conducted last year revealed that the five TCUs in North Dakota had an economic impact of nearly $200 million on the state of North Dakota in one year alone.
Building Tribal Nations
AIHEC Proprietary

7. Natural Res. Manage-ment (25)
TCU Degree programs
Social Work (21)
Education (28)
Tribal Studies (21)
Natural Res. Manage-ment (25)
Health (26)
All have Native language and Native Studies requirements.

8. TCUs: Native Research = Stronger Tribal Communities
TCUs Conduct Native-Developed, Native-Led, and Native-Relevant Research, Addressing Tribal Land, Water, Health, and Community Issues.
TCUs ARE Nation Building!

9. AIHEC: Collective Voice & Spirit of TCUs…
Established in mid-1970s to Advocate for Federal TCU Legislation and Funding
Today, AIHEC’s Duties & Potential Have Expanded, Nationally & Internationally, including a range of partners
(e.g. Alliance)
The TCUs are able to carry-out these many and varied activities because since they were first established, they have worked together collectively through AIHEC.
AIHEC is the central organization that was created by the TCUs and is governed by all of the Tribal Colleges in the U.S.
AIHEC Proprietary

10. Post-Secondary Ed & STEM Challenges: Native Students and TCUs
Lack of Academic Preparation: percent Developmental Ed; Behavioral & General Health Issues: Suicide, Depression, Gangs, Alcohol, Violence, Diabetes, Obesity
TCU Focus & Fiscal Resources: TCUs are under-resourced TEACHING institutions. Research is sometimes difficult to establish and sustain.
TCU Faculty & Admin Sustainability: Development, Release Time, & Research Opportunities are rare. Jobs are complex: Academic, Community, AND Cultural Responsibilities. High Turnover Rates.
Geographic, Infrastructure, and Socio-Economic Challenges & Barriers: 7 of 10 poorest countries have a TCU; several TCU reservations are larger than some states; few high level STEM jobs -- limited economies
Post-Secondary Ed & STEM Challenges:
Native Students
and TCUs
Challenges:

11. TCU STEM Program Requirements
EPA/AIHEC Council: May 24, 2011
TCU STEM Program Requirements
Address the community’s priorities (e.g. Nation building, economic development)
Address K-12 system shortcomings
Engage students in their community, demonstrating relevance of STEM
Build student competence across the career pipeline
Stimulate job creation, along with workforce development
Responsive to local/regional STEM workforce needs
AIHEC works to establish and strengthen other programs benefiting tribal communities.
As you probably know, about 75 percent of tribal land is forested or agriculture land.
Because land is central to who we are as people, AIHEC with Congress to establish Tribal Colleges as “1994” land-grant institutions. Through the TCU land-grant authority, the colleges offer many land-related programs, including extension activities, and train large numbers of natural resource management professionals.

12. TCU STEM Initiatives supported by CI
EPA/AIHEC Council: May 24, 2011
TCU STEM Initiatives supported by CI
Advanced Manufacturing Initiative: network of TCUs developing programs, collaborating with National Labs and industry
Environmental Resilience: network of TCUs, natural resource management/agricultural/climate science partners using and contributing to local and national data/knowledge bases
Institutional data analytics and data-driven decision making
National Tribal University: learning environment serving all of Indian Country providing state of the art learning technologies
AIHEC works to establish and strengthen other programs benefiting tribal communities.
As you probably know, about 75 percent of tribal land is forested or agriculture land.
Because land is central to who we are as people, AIHEC with Congress to establish Tribal Colleges as “1994” land-grant institutions. Through the TCU land-grant authority, the colleges offer many land-related programs, including extension activities, and train large numbers of natural resource management professionals.

13. Cyberinfrastructure at MSIs (1999-2004)
EPA/AIHEC Council: May 24, 2011
Cyberinfrastructure at MSIs ( )
Advanced Networking with Minority Serving Institutions 
Funded by NSF CISE
EDUCAUSE, AIHEC, NAFEO and HACU
Goal: Advance ICT adoption and use
Promoted an ICT community of practice at MSIs
48 campus assessments
Professional development and dissemination of technologies and practices
AIHEC works to establish and strengthen other programs benefiting tribal communities.
As you probably know, about 75 percent of tribal land is forested or agriculture land.
Because land is central to who we are as people, AIHEC with Congress to establish Tribal Colleges as “1994” land-grant institutions. Through the TCU land-grant authority, the colleges offer many land-related programs, including extension activities, and train large numbers of natural resource management professionals.

14. AIHEC TCU Cyberinfrastructure Initiative Proposal Submitted to NSF
EPA/AIHEC Council: May 24, 2011
AIHEC TCU Cyberinfrastructure Initiative Proposal Submitted to NSF
Examine TCU cyberinfrastructure capabilities related to NSF goals for IHE participation in the national STEM education and research infrastructure.
Provide a primary planning and evaluation resource of TCU national and regional connectivity, compute capabilities, and human resource requirements.
Provide information necessary for each TCU to articulate (or update) and begin implementing a sustainable Campus Cyberinfrastructure Plan.
AIHEC works to establish and strengthen other programs benefiting tribal communities.
As you probably know, about 75 percent of tribal land is forested or agriculture land.
Because land is central to who we are as people, AIHEC with Congress to establish Tribal Colleges as “1994” land-grant institutions. Through the TCU land-grant authority, the colleges offer many land-related programs, including extension activities, and train large numbers of natural resource management professionals.

15. Goal: TCU CI Community of Practice
EPA/AIHEC Council: May 24, 2011
Goal: TCU CI Community of Practice
Connections and dialogue among IT staff and faculty across TCUs
Stimulate exploration of emerging cyberinfrastructure technologies
Capture and disseminate knowledge on TCU CI challenges and solutions
Facilitate collaborations around CI issues/opportunities
Online technical workshops (given additional funding) tto maintain TCU It staff skills
AIHEC works to establish and strengthen other programs benefiting tribal communities.
As you probably know, about 75 percent of tribal land is forested or agriculture land.
Because land is central to who we are as people, AIHEC with Congress to establish Tribal Colleges as “1994” land-grant institutions. Through the TCU land-grant authority, the colleges offer many land-related programs, including extension activities, and train large numbers of natural resource management professionals.

16. AIHEC-TCU Study Focus Areas
EPA/AIHEC Council: May 24, 2011
AIHEC-TCU Study Focus Areas
Campus Infrastructure
IT Personnel
STEM Programs
Strategic Planning
Faculty Development
TCU Education & Research Goals
AIHEC works to establish and strengthen other programs benefiting tribal communities.
As you probably know, about 75 percent of tribal land is forested or agriculture land.
Because land is central to who we are as people, AIHEC with Congress to establish Tribal Colleges as “1994” land-grant institutions. Through the TCU land-grant authority, the colleges offer many land-related programs, including extension activities, and train large numbers of natural resource management professionals.

17. TCU CI Study Phases Campus Computing Survey
IT management and staff, administrators, faculty and students
Focus on current campus CI, quality of services provided, programs supported
Site visits
Teams: management lead (university CIO) & technical lead (network engineer)
Meet with TCU leadership, IT management, faculty and students
Collect and document campus network and technology facilities (e.g. labs, data centers, etc.)

18. Core Approach: CBPR Campus stakeholders drive the process
TCU defines programmatic context for campus CI
IT leadership, STEM faculty members, and students participate in site visit planning
Facilitate engagement with the campus community and encourage participation in larger group discussions

19. Deliverables Individual TCU reports with recommendations
NSF TCU comprehensive report with broad recommendations on TCU opportunities

20. CI Study Project Leadership Team
Jason Arviso, Director of IT, Navajo Technical University, PI
Al Kuslikis, AIHEC, co-PI
Gil Gonzales, Consultant
Dale Smith, Consultant, University of Oregon

21. How Can You Participate?
We are committed to a COORDINATED & UNIFIED effort
among interested TCUs and Partners:
AIHEC is lead coordinator & facilitator: contact AIHEC if interested in working with local/regional TCUs.
We will integrate you into the process as a member of our multi-stakeholder partnership