Through some turbulent and financially difficult times, Karen Swisher has been an effective and progressive leader for Haskell Indian Nations University.

During her seven years as Haskell president, Swisher has overseen significant advances at the school. Her retirement at the end of this year will be a loss for Haskell and the community.

A student interviewed after Swisher announced her retirement said, “I’m excited for Haskell. I think they need to get someone in there who’ll be more involved with the student body. She (Swisher) seems to keep to herself.”

It’s true that any change in leadership presents an opportunity for a university, but to tie Swisher’s quiet demeanor to a lack of dedication or accomplishment would be a mistake.

Swisher, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux of North Dakota, was hired in September 1996 to lead Haskell’s elementary education program, which had received provisional accreditation from the Kansas State Board of Education only a year earlier. After Robert Martin left the Haskell presidency, she served as interim president for 11 months before being named president – Haskell’s first female president – in May 2000.

Her tenure as president hasn’t been trouble-free. During her interim term, a traffic accident killed three Haskell students in North Lawrence, the director of the Haskell Foundation resigned amid financial controversy and the Haskell Board of Regents formally rejected a plan to route the South Lawrence Trafficway through the Haskell Wetlands.

Despite these controversies and declining federal funding, Swisher has been able to make important advances at Haskell. In addition to elementary education, Haskell now offers four-year baccalaureate degrees in American Indian studies, business and environmental science. Swisher has worked hard to strengthen ties between Haskell and Kansas University, making it easier for KU students to attend Haskell classes and for Haskell students to advance their studies at KU.

Swisher has been involved with various community activities, including serving on the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce board of directors, as part of her effort to increase local awareness and knowledge of Haskell. The school has partnered with the Lied Center of Kansas on various performances and opened a new cultural center and museum as part of its community outreach.

Probably the biggest challenge Swisher’s successor will face is the steady decline of federal support for Indian education that already has forced Haskell to eliminate summer school and drastically reduce its staff. Perhaps Haskell’s next president will be a more vocal spokesman or fundraiser, but it seems unlikely that the school will find a more effective or dedicated educator than the one it will lose with Swisher’s retirement.