Page 26 - 2022 June Report

June Report 2022
Site visit report from Salish Kootenai College
May 17, 2022
By: Richard Williams, Indigenous Program Consultant
SKC Participants
Audrey Plouffe - VP Business Division Affairs
Makenzi Skellenger - Business Division Associate
Rachel Andrews-Gould - Business Management Department Head
JSF Participants
Bobby Krause, CEO
Mike Miller, JSF Board Member
Richard Williams, JSF Indigenous Program Consultant
Background
The purpose of our visit was to introduce SKC to a new reporting process for our endowed scholarship programs. SKC is an excellent place to renew our reporting efforts for endowed programs. However, getting there is difficult. We drove 323 miles (mostly mountains) from Aaniiih Nakoda College through the Glacier National Park to Polson, Montana. Polson is located on the shores of the beautiful Flat Head Lake on the Flat Head reservation. We were blessed with good weather and sunshine. The scenic views for the entire trip were spectacular. However, it is not advised to visit the area during the late fall, winter or early spring. We were told that the route could have 15-to-30-foot snow drifts. We safely survived the long day but missed the famous huckleberry stores. We did have a good night’s rest on the shores of the Flat Head Lake.
Introductions
After a brief round of introductions Bobby explained the history of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation‘s role in tribal colleges and scholarships.
Makenzi Skellenger, a new employee of SKC who is a Business Division Associate, was a graduate of SKC and has been accepted into the next Gonzaga MBA-AIE cohort. It was noted that SKC may have had the most participants to attend the MBA program at Gonzaga.
Rachel Andrews-Gould provided an excellent history of the Salish Kootenai College tribe and how the college was located on an open reservation which allowed for greater business opportunities in the community. She went on to describe the student profile and said that there were over 60 different tribes represented at the institution and specifically they had a very good relationship with ANC and often had transfers from there.
SKC Is one of the largest tribal colleges and has had an excellent reputation for being an institution that excels at all levels.
The business faculty has seven members and will have anywhere from 20 to 25 students attend each quarter. One unique aspect of this institution is they provide services for only 3 quarters a year - fall, spring and summer quarters.
Rachel told us they have begun offering coursework utilizing the Master Class model. Master Class is an American online education subscription platform on which students can access tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields.
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