The president of Haskell Indian Nations University will be dispatched to New Mexico until January to help with another institute of higher learning’s accreditation process.
The Bureau of Indian Education is sending President Linda Sue Warner to assist the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute beginning on Sept. 28. SIPI is a National Indian Community College and a land grant institution in Albuquerque, N.M.
Warner will retain her title as president during the time period, but at least two other people will serve as acting president of Haskell while Warner is in Albuquerque, said Stephanie Birdwell, deputy director for policy evaluation and postsecondary education at the Bureau of Indian Education in Washington.
The first acting president, Chris Redman, a Bureau of Indian Education education specialist based in Oklahoma City, will arrive on Sept. 28 and will serve for about 30 days, Birdwell said. A second person has not yet been named, she said.
The Bureau of Indian Education funds 25 tribal colleges and universities in addition to Haskell and SIPI.
Birdwell said any employee of the federal government may be detailed to help with a special project or other task for a period of time.
Warner will take a leadership role in the ongoing accreditation process at SIPI, which is on a 10-year cycle.
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KU_cynic (anonymous) says…
Prediction: She never comes back to Haskell.
Keith (anonymous) says…
Sure looks like it.
RalphReed (Ralph Reed) says…
WOW. Very interesting.
geekin_topekan (anonymous) says…
Prediction: SIPI will expand into a four year accredited technical university rather than its present two year status.
Haskell and SIPI will be the centers for native education that will offer advanced technical and professional degrees that produce skilled,competent and competitive graduates.
ivalueamerica (anonymous) says…
I had high hopes for her when she came to Lawrence,
She is a great idea person, but a terrible, terrible, leader.
A good leader not only has good ideas, but can implement them and can get people to join her in the process, and limit the critics.
A failed leader can not inspire confidence in the people she leads.
She failed.
blindrabbit (anonymous) says…
Two ineffective leaders in a row; something wrong with selection process. I've heard she has been a road-block to things moving forward at Haskell,; vindictive as well.
redskinsfan (anonymous) says…
Stephanie Birdwell is a woman of her word. She was very clear about what Dr.Warner is doing and when she will return to Haskell. Dr.Warner will return in January and while she is in New Mexico she will retain her title as Haskell's President.
Dr.Warner is not a terrible leader, rather she has had employees who have been terribly hard to lead. Haskell the institution is changing. A lot of the people who have been long time employees are not. They still see Haskell as a boarding school.
Though they are not employees let's look at The Haskell Board of Regents.
A group of people whose time has no doubt come and gone. Most of them do not hold BA's let alone Master's degrees and yes while some of them did graduate from Haskell it was when Haskell gave out degrees in technical programs and not academic BA's as it does now. So the students that The Haskell Board of Regents is trying to guide are actually MORE educated then the board who is trying to lead them.
People who could not possibly hold jobs at other places without growing with the company, are government employees of Haskell .
Someone really needs to take a good look at the overall education of the employees there and at least make them have BA's and I mean even the dorm staff who interact everyday with the students. A large number of them don't even know how to operate a computer ... I wonder if any of them hold BA's ? They should if that's what Haskell is trying to have their students accomplish.
And why is it Haskell Instructors don't have to publish or parish..we DO at my University. We also teach 15 hours and give back to the community. It is the Haskell students who suffer when the staff cares only about themselves.
From what I see of the situation Dr.Warner is only doing her job. She is not there to baby or cuddle employees. She is there as the boss and to see that employees are doing their jobs. At most any other place these employees would be gone if for no other reason the way they have treated their boss and their lack of skills.
The employees who are complaining the loudest seem to be the ones who want to work the least. While the boss is gone the employees will play..sounds like to me that has already started. I heard that Haskell's library recently sent out an e-mail stating they are now changing the operating hours and will start closing at 7 p.m. !! What University library closes at 7 p.m. ? Again the students suffer.
Dr.Warner will be back in January and she will move Haskell forward as she has been doing for the last two years.
I give Dr.Warner Kudos !!
justme2 (anonymous) says…
Redskinfan (sorta says it all, eh?) "Parish?" Where do you teach? Hopefully not English classes...Linda Warner has continued to run an administration that is vindictive as well as incompetent. She has yet to show how much she is invested in the students of Haskell, instead she spends her time "reorganizing" the university so that certain families have all the prime jobs. She has consistently retaliated against good employees and students who have sought to speak up for the good of HINU.
Keep giving Warner kudos as she runs HINU into the ground.
sypeccary (anonymous) says…
You are absolutely correct, redskinfan.
Why would Warner want to come back to Haskell? And who says she didn't ask to leave? The maliciousness of some lazy HINU administrators and “faculty” who do no research at all and can’t even complete their degrees combined with some self-righteous students who expect to be coddled because theyre Indians and an ignorant BoR make HINU an embarrassment to Indian Country. Any Haskell leader with standards and a sense of decency will get shredded. Haskell is dysfunctional and will probably stay that way.
WilburM (anonymous) says…
Redskinfan: "publish or parish?" Didn't know we were talking about a religious school.
Bureau of Indian Affairs = the worst of all federal bureaucracies, and the competition is fierce.
ivalueamerica (anonymous) says…
I stand by my word. Since she is not able to gain the confidence of a majority of faculty, staff, regents or students, she has failed at leadership.
I like her ideas, but part of her job is the ability to get along with people and earn their respect and trust. She can not do that very well, and it is essential to her work.
Alum (anonymous) says…
free at last, free at last!
Finally, the reign of TERROR has lifted after 2 1/2 loooong years. Ms. Birdwell, could she please take her cronies her? Pretty please?
Warner did have ideas, but lacked the insight, tact, and natural human feeling to be an effective leader. Anyone can lead, the question is where will they lead you? We were headed down the road of lost integrity and corruption.
Hopefully BIE finally woke up and realized they had the wrong person in the job. If she comes back in January, be prepared for some hellacious uproar and choas. Bye, Linda Sue, don't let the you know what, hit you in the you know where.
fleetwood (anonymous) says…
Haskell is a great institution, unfortunately it has a lot of faculty and staff who complain way too much. This is a place for higher education and the focus should be on the students. Take all of this negativity and energy spent on complaining and do something positive. Focus on the students, and do your jobs, if you dislike Haskell so much, quit. I'm sure there are a number of qualified people who would love to have a job.
freedom7 (anonymous) says…
From what I can see your President Dr.Warner has done one fine job. Sure she has probably made a few mistakes. Let the first one who hasn't throw the first stone and all of that.
Why isn't Haskell asking the most out of their employees ? Why do your instructors NOT have to publish or perish ? And why aren't they teaching 15 hours in order to give their students more class choices ?
And which Haskell instructors are NOT finishing their degrees ? They should be fired ! I read in this very paper a short time ago that Haskell employees are actually given grant money to help them finish their Ph.D's. Must be nice and yet they don't finish !
Someone refers to people around Dr.Warner as being there for a long time maybe they are tenured ?
I do not know the exact terms in government language but maybe she has to work with them.
Were these people working at Haskell before Dr.Warner arrived on campus ? Is this a family that you are talking about ? If so why has the U.S. government allowed a family to work together in the same facility for so long ?
I don't think Dr.Warner should be blamed for that. And if she put these people in place all leaders do that, take a look at Obama or your new BIE Director Larry EchoHawk did they not to the same ?
I agree with whoever said that Dr.Warner is at Haskell as a boss and not there to baby people. It sounds like to me some people who know a thing or two about Haskell also know that there are some people there who are not doing their jobs ( and those are usually the ones complaining the loudest about their boss ) nor do they want to work and so I agree with the other person who said if you don't like the way that Haskell is being run then leave, get another job because there are people standing in line for your jobs who will actually do them.
Being a minority from the Lawrence community I do try to keep up with Haskell somewhat and it seems to me that Haskell can't keep a president and now that you have a good one you going to complain about her also? Why because she holds you to certain standards ? Oh please !
And you are wrong wrong wrong about your Haskell Board Members it is like saying to a medical student please practice medicine and we are going to give you this person who graduated from woodworking to show you how.
Wake up minority people the only way out of poverty for most of us is through education, but you have to have some one educated to teach education. Looks like to me you have that in Dr.Warner but not in some of your own teachers and Board Members. Haskell needs to wake up and join the real world.
I too give Dr.Warner kudos for apparently trying under very difficult circumstances to education Haskell students.
And I give kudos to Stephanie Birdwell whoever she is for realizing this.
Sorry if I have misspelled any words because surely that is what we should be looking at instead of the importance of educating minority youth.
freedom7 (anonymous) says…
P.S. Dr.Warner is only going to be gone until January and if you don't like that may I suggest that you be gone when she comes back ! I've never seen a more ungrateful group of people you are looking bad to those of us on the outside looking in.
kcwarpony (anonymous) says…
"...And if she put these people in place all leaders do that, take a look at Obama or your new BIE Director Larry EchoHawk did they not to the same ?..."
Just to clarify…
Kevin Skenandore is the Interim Director of the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).
Larry Echo Hawk is the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
danemary (anonymous) says…
welp that's one way of getting her out of town!
BigPrune (anonymous) says…
wow!
lightmyfire (anonymous) says…
the BIE and Haskell is being ran by social workers! and wasnt it just last year when another administrator was sent out, why wasnt this news? native peeps are never going to get ahead, we are our own worst enemy.
sypeccary (anonymous) says…
msmimi:
"presiddent"
charmz (anonymous) says…
I also would like to know if the second in command wil be going if so bye bye Stephanie Birdwell...hope Dr.Warner doesn't bring you back with her !!!
And hey smimi " presiddent " that was bright, you better go back and take some English lessons and stop worrying about everyone else !!!!
jayhawk35 (anonymous) says…
All the people who are commenting here against President Warner, I've got one word for you...ignorant! Trust me, that's what each and every one of you are. If any of you are disgruntled employees under her administration, is it really her fault you can't find gainful employment elsewhere? NO! If any of you are student's please shut up. Seriously do you think you know more about how to run a University then President Warner does? If you feel that way you're, yes i'm sorry to say, ignorant. And maybe a little foolish. And the Board of Regents. Give me a break. ignorant and a joke. Trust me I don't like having to call out anyone, but use your brain's if you have one.
It's been a large portion of President Warner's Professional time that has been wasted here...because of these people. President Warner has devoted her very heart and soul to improving this institution and to bringing recognition to Haskell. And I guarantee this wasn't what she had envisioned. I'm also sure she expected "Indian Country" to appreciate and respect the work she's trying to accomplish here. If you don't think or want Haskell to exist then keep it up.
It's not President Warner who's failed here, It's all of you.
sunshiny (anonymous) says…
I bet Dr. Warner thought she was signing up to run an educational institution; I suspect she was not trained to run an organization like this one. Do you think the Interior will ever get around to actually asking the folks who work for kids why they let the crazies embarass the place?