UA News

The UA is hosting the College Board's Native American Student Advocacy Institute this month.

Nearly 200 school counselors, college and university officials, K-12 educators, policymakers and others will convene at The University of Arizona for a two-day conference regarding the success of American Indian students.

The UA is co-sponsoring the 2009 Native American Student Advocacy Institute's "Building Nations Through Education" conference with the College Board, a national membership-based organization that serves students and represents colleges and universities.

The event, which will center on a wide range of education-related issues concerning American Indian, Alaska Native and native Hawaiian students, will be held Monday and Tuesday at the UA's Student Union Memorial Center.

Topics to be discussed during the intstitute include student preparation, ethics and tribal values, learning disabilities, indigenous education and ways to leverage social networking sites to create community.

The institute is bringing together tribal leaders, school counselors, college and university officials, K-12 educators and also policymakers and representatives from nonprofit organizations. It will also include a networking break and reception.

In a letter UA President Robert N. Shelton sent to the institute, he noted that the theme coincides with the UA's priorities.

"The University of Arizona has a long tradition of promoting the success and rich cultural heritage of our Native American/Alaskan Native students from diverse tribal nations," Shelton wrote. "We are delighted to partner with the College Board to share a common goal of promoting educational opportunties for Native American youth and communities."

The list of speakers include:

Stephanie Fryberg, an assistant professor in the UA's psychology department and an affiliate faculty in American Indian Studies, teaches about cultural and social psychology. Fryberg's research focuses on the influence of social representations of race, culture and social class on psychological well-being, physical health and educational attainment.

Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, the Borderlands Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Arizona State University, is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. He is also a visiting president's professor of education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who has centered his research on the role of indigenous knowledge systems in the academic experiences of students, staff and faculty.

Denise Juneau, superintendent of the Montana Office of Public Instruction, formerly served as the director of Indian Education for the Office of Public Instruction, overseeing the Indian Education for All program and working on student achievement issues. In 2004, she became a Montana Supreme Court clerk and is the first American Indian to serve in a statewide executive-level office.

LuAnn Leonard, a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, is the first American Indian to be appointed to the board. Leonard is the executive director of the Hopi Education Endowment Fund, which was established by tribal ordinance of the Hopi Tribal Council. Prior to her work with the organization, she worked with the Hopi Tribe in positions ranging from higher education counselor, higher education director, and director of youth affairs, to serving as an assistant to the chairman of the tribe, Wayne Taylor Jr.

Iris PrettyPaint is a professor and co-director of Research Opportunities in Science for Native Americans at the University of Montana. PrettyPaint, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana and descendant of the Crow Nation, has been involved in American Indian education, advocacy and research as well as the prevention of family violence.

The two-day event is structured around more than 30 plenary and concurrent sessions.

The closing plenary session on Tuesday afternoon will focus on leadership and recommendations for the new administration. The programs and policy-driven conversation will center on suggestions on how to boost the achievement of American Indian students. Ferlin Clark, president of Diné College and the conference co-chair, will mediate the discussion.

"We are especially proud to be working with The University of Arizona since their commitment to the Native American community is exemplary," Gaston Caperton, the College Board president, noted in a statement.

"At the College Board, we believe that the success of our nation rests on educating all of our students to their fullest potential," Caperton added. "Together we can make the future brighter for our students and our nation."