Native
American student support focus of project
A new National
Institute for Native Leadership in Higher Education (NINLHE)
project is designed to have students gather information about
how to improve Native American student support at higher education
institutions.
The project
is funded by a $75,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
of Battle Creek, Mich. NINLHE, formed in 1993, is a non-profit
organization headquartered at UNM.
Among
Native Americans, drop-out rates at each stage of the formal
education process are unacceptably high, said Dr. Colleen
Larimore, executive director of NINLHE.
Native
American students who are college juniors, seniors, masters
or doctoral-level students with a stated interest in pursuing
careers in native higher education are eligible to apply to
participate.
Participants
will be paired with mentor professionals in the field of native
higher education. Students will receive funding to complete
information-gathering projects with their mentors and present
their findings at NINLHEs annual summer institute. They
will also have the opportunity to publish a paper on the projects
overall findings and to travel to a national education conference
with their mentors to explore career and graduate school opportunities.
NINLHE
is dedicated to changing higher education in ways that allow
native students to achieve their academic goals while strengthening
their cultural identities, said Augustine McCaffery, chair
of NINLHEs national governing board.
McCaffery
added, This new project will enable NINLHE to incorporate
student perspectives into our efforts to improve educational
access and outcomes for Native people on campuses throughout
the country.