Lawrence Journal-World opinion section

Defining a problem is the first step in solving it.

A study that estimates it will take $111 million to $123 million to upgrade facilities at Haskell Indian Nations University certainly is daunting, but quantifying the needs is the first step in attracting government and private funding to address those needs.

The facilities report presented last week to Haskell’s National Board of Regents is a no-frills assessment of the university’s most critical needs. The list includes a new building for the business school and one for science, technology and math programs. The plan would provide a new “one-stop” building for admissions and financial aid offices and new student housing along with renovations to existing dorms and academic spaces. That work, along with a new home for Haskell’s on-campus child care facility, add up to about $111.7 million. To restore Haskell’s historic Hiawatha Hall, which has fallen into such disrepair that it no longer is in use, would raise the price tag to $123.1 million.

The only way to address these issues is to simply get started, which is what the Haskell regents decided to do, passing resolutions supporting various ways to implement the plan. Additional federal funding obviously is warranted for the nation’s only four-year university run by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education, but Haskell officials also are hoping to attract investments from American Indian tribes and other private donors across the country.

Key to their plans is the revitalized Haskell Foundation, which can accept donations while avoiding the prohibitively complex process required to give money directly to the federal school. A year ago, the foundation’s executive director set a goal of raising $70 million in the next 10 years. That would go a long way toward meeting Haskell’s facilities needs, which President Venida Chenault said she also hopes to address within the next decade.

Despite changing leadership and lackluster support from the federal government in recent years, Haskell has continued to build its programs and academic excellence. Rather than being discouraged by the challenges ahead, Chenault, who took over as president in January 2014, is setting a specific strategy to push Haskell to a positive future. That vision deserves the support of government officials and tribal groups as well as the Lawrence community.