Page 31 - April JSF Report

GRANT PROGRAM COMMITTEE MINUTES (DRAFT) (7)
The NAATE office began a little over 2 years ago, and one of its first major accomplishments was developing a land acknowledgement statement. It also hosts an annual Tribal Leaders Summit, and it has developed a relationship with collegiate athletics through the PAC-12 Conference. The University developed an intergovernmental agreement with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe which resulted in the tribe having its own U of A microcampus. Talks are ongoing with other tribes that are interested in having microcampuses.
Another significant achievement was the creation of the Arizona Native Scholars grant program, which ensures in-state tuition and mandatory fees are fully covered for Native undergraduate students who are Arizona residents. It began this school year, and so far 263 students have received a total of $2 million in scholarships. The hope is that this program will improve student retention. Another retention tool is the Arizona SALT Center, which provides support services for students such as tutoring. In the pipeline is the creation of a School of Indigenous Governance and Development, which will help develop future tribal leaders. So far $1 million has been raised to establish the program.
The Native FORGE program was established as a way to make entrepreneurship accessible to everyone. Presently the program is working closely with the San Carlos Apache Tribe to develop its economy. A curriculum is under development. Known as Venturing 101, it will help with customer development, business modeling, financial literacy and other aspects of business education. Levi hopes there may be a way to have scholarships to cover the cost for students interested in taking the course.
Other NAATE accomplishments include the inclusion of Native Nations flags in the University’s bookstore; Native languages being featured on University signs; creation of the Unity Plaza; and development of the Native American Cultural and Learning Center. Levi noted that students and tribal leaders had a hand in developing these projects. A report will be coming out this summer detailing how the University, a land-grant institution, obtained its property. Levi and Tina left the meeting.
c. Convening plans
A draft of the Indigenous Peoples Convening plan by Sherry had been circulated. The 2023 Reservation Economic Summit (RES) will be held April 3-6, and the hope is that 6-7 alumni of the Gonzaga MBA-AIE program will be there and have an opportunity to meet. Sherry plans to attend both the Conference and the meeting. The 2023 AISES Conference will take place in Spokane, Washington, October 19-21. The plan is to bring together a group of the MBA-AIE alumni for the 2023 Indigenous Peoples Convening in conjunction with the AISES Conference. This will be a different type of Convening than the previous 2, but it will offer the unique and valuable perspective of the MBA-AIE alumni. Additionally, JSF could reach out to all 84 current MBA-AIE graduates with a survey. If the survey could be sent by June, responses could be received in July/August and a report produced by late September for use at both the October Entrepreneurship Scholarship Annual Meeting and the Indigenous Peoples Convening.
12. Disadvantaged Programing a. Linkage report
David’s linkage report on SUNY Ulster had been circulated. JSF is in the second year of a 5-year, $394,000 matching grant with SUNY Ulster to support the President’s Challenge Scholarship (PCS) program. David highlighted several key findings from his report. The school has strong leadership as well as a deep institutional commitment to the PCS program. Also, the program is well-crafted and is meeting a definite need. He noted that the program was up and running quickly, and SUNY Ulster’s Executive Director of Institutional Advancement and External Relations credits JSF’s support with being a catalyst. The program is high-impact and has received broad community support. In fact, the Advancement Director said it’s easy to raise money for it. For that reason, an endowment for PCS is not on the horizon. The school does have other needs, such as an emergency fund, that potentially could benefit from endowments, and that is where they prefer to expend their efforts. Overall, this program is seen as a gem that has benefited from JSF involvement.
SUNY Ulster came to JSF’s attention through an LOI. A site visit took place some time later when Malcolm and David Blaikie were in the area. What they saw impressed them. The former SUNY Ulster President, Alan Roberts, taked about how this community had many challenges. It was noted that the need for leadership is significant in a program like this, such as is the case with the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarship at the
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