WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today administered the oath of office to James C. Redman at his inauguration as Haskell Indian Nations University’s (HINU) sixth president. The ceremony took place today on the Haskell campus in Lawrence, Kan., where Echo Hawk and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Director Keith Moore were joined by local dignitaries, tribal leaders, students, staff, faculty and fellow regional academic community members.
“I am pleased to be at Haskell to swear in James Redman as Haskell Indian Nations University’s sixth president,” Echo Hawk said. “He understands that Haskell is a proud institution with a long history of serving Indian Country. His leadership will ensure that Haskell continues to progress in its mission in the 21st century."
“Chris Redman is a proven leader and dedicated public servant,” Moore said. “His commitment to Haskell, its students, staff and faculty, and to American Indian higher education, is unquestioned. Today signifies that a solid foundation is being built at Haskell.”
Redman, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, was an education specialist with the BIE who had served as Haskell’s acting president in times of need. His appointment to the position became effective on July 3, 2011. The swearing-in ceremony was held today at the start of the 2011 Haskell Homecoming celebration.
“I am honored to be sworn in by Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk and to have BIE Director Moore at Haskell,” said Redman. “They are as committed as I am to Haskell’s future and to continuing the positive changes they have made for the benefit of our students.”
The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs oversees the Bureau of Indian Education which operates the federal school system for American Indian and Alaska Native children from the nation’s 565 federally recognized tribes. The BIE implements federal education laws and provides funding to 183 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools and peripheral dormitories located on 63 reservations in 23 states and serving approximately 41,000 students. The BIE also serves post secondary students through higher education scholarships and support funding to 27 tribal colleges and universities and two tribal technical colleges. In addition to HINU, the BIE also directly operates the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M.
Haskell Indian Nations University has served the educational needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students for well over a century. Opened on September 1, 1884 as the United States Industrial Training School with a focus on agricultural education in grades one through five, the school was known as Haskell Institute throughout Indian Country until 1970 when it was transformed into a two-year higher education institution and renamed Haskell Indian Junior College. In 1993, the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs approved changing the school’s name to its current form.
Haskell has grown from its original 22 students in 1884 to an average enrollment today of over 1,000 students each semester from federally recognized tribes across the U.S. It offers baccalaureate programs in elementary teacher education, American Indian studies, business administration and environmental science, and integrates American Indian/Alaska Native culture into all of its curricula. Students may transfer to another baccalaureate degree-granting institution or go directly into the workforce. For more information, visit www.haskell.edu.
For Immediate Release: October 7, 2011
