Haskell looks to future with inauguration of new president

Venida Chenault was inaugurated as the seventh president of Haskell Indian Nations University on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, at Haskell. Dr. Chenault, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi and Kickapoo tribes, is the first student of Haskell to become its president.

William Mendoza, from the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education, speaks during the inauguration of Haskell Indian Nations University President Venida Chenault, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, in Haskell Auditorium.

Lionel Bordeaux, president at Sinte Gleska University and former Haskell Board of Regents member, speaks during the inauguration of Haskell Indian Nations University President Venida Chenault, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, in Haskell Auditorium.

Former Haskell Indian Nations University President Robert Martin, left, presents a blanket to Venida Chenault during Chenault's inauguration as Haskell's seventh president, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014, in Haskell Auditorium.

Venida Chenault was inaugurated as the president of Haskell Indian Nations University on Sept. 17, 2014. Chenault is the first student of Haskell to become its president.

The focus was on the future Wednesday at Haskell Indian Nations University, as the school inaugurated Venida Chenault as its seventh president. She is the first Haskell student to become president.

Chenault herself, who was a single mother on government assistance before amassing multiple college degrees, trumpeted what higher education can do for the American Indian people. She said Haskell is a critical tool for improving a world where many young people feel hopeless about their futures.

“I am here today as evidence that we can beat the odds,” Chenault said. “Education does improve our lives, and it does improve our opportunities for success.”

The inauguration ceremony kicked off the school’s celebration of its 130th anniversary. A number of national and regional dignitaries — many of them Haskell alumni — spoke during the ceremony and opened with their native languages.

All shared Chenault’s optimism for the future, including Bernadette Gray-Little, chancellor of Kansas University, a Haskell partner school.

“Any time a university welcomes a new leader, there’s a sense of excitement, renewal and optimism,” Gray-Little said. “I believe that big things are in store for Haskell under her leadership.”

Chenault, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi and Kickapoo tribes, has had faculty and administrative positions at Haskell dating to 1991. Most recently she was vice president of academic affairs. She took the president’s post at Haskell in January.

In the five years prior, the school had been led by more acting presidents than permanent ones. It has faced problems, including athletic probation, which was lifted this spring, and a U.S. Department of Education investigation into academic fraud.

In her address Wednesday, Chenault did not shy away from other challenges the school faces.

“It is time to invest in our college,” she said.

Haskell, where current enrollment is just 790, has weathered federal funding cuts and faces an academic accreditation review this school year.

The campus needs new residence halls and science facilities, as well as major renovations and repairs to some of its historic buildings, Chenault said. She said Haskell’s newest building, Roe Cloud Hall, is now 20 years old.

The school’s celebrated athletics program needs money to return to its “place in history,” Chenault said. She said auxiliary programs that could help sports and other areas of the school need more funding and autonomy to be able to be effective.

Chenault cited several new initiatives aimed at getting things back on track.

“We’re not asking for handouts,” she said. “We’re working to find solutions to the challenges we face.”

Chenault said the whole of Indian Country needs educated leaders to tackle problems like violence, suicide, sexual assault of women, climate change and an education system that leaves many students unprepared for college.

Former Haskell president Robert Martin, now president of the Institute of American Art, said graduates make a difference across Indian Territory and beyond.

“We need Haskell more than ever,” he said.

Joshua Arce, one of Chenault’s four children, spoke of his mother’s commitment to education and love for Haskell.

He recalls a childhood where — between remembering every birthday and somehow making sure the Tooth Fairy left something for every tooth — his mother would read books, write papers, attend classes and graduate. Then she’d work for a while before her “hunger” for the classroom and learning would take over and she’d repeat that degree-getting process again, he said.

Chenault’s life has prepared her for this opportunity, Arce said. “She bleeds purple and gold.”