Haskell Indian Nations University’s new president has been chosen, but Bureau of Indian Education has yet to announce who it is

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World photo

Osceola and Keokuk halls are pictured in the background at Haskell Indian Nations University on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.

A new president has been chosen for Haskell Indian Nations University, but the Bureau of Indian Education has yet to announce who it is, the Journal-World learned on Thursday.

The update didn’t come directly from the Bureau of Indian Education, which is responsible for overseeing Haskell’s operations and hiring. Instead, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., shared that information with the Journal-World in a phone call. However, Moran told the Journal-World he didn’t know the name of the new president, nor did he know when the BIE would announce it.

Moran, who represents Kansas on the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee, learned of the hire after sending a formal inquiry to BIE Director Tony Dearman on Thursday. In his letter to Dearman, which he shared with the Journal-World, he requested more information and an expected timeline for naming the new president, and he urged that the decision take place in time for the 2022-23 academic year. Moran’s letter also notes the importance of having a permanent president in place “to develop and execute a long-term strategic vision for the university.”

Haskell’s last president, Ronald Graham, was removed from office in May of 2021 following an internal investigation and criticism that he was stifling students’ and faculty’s free speech rights.

Since then, attempts by the Journal-World to learn more information about how the process was going have largely fallen flat, with BIE officials ignoring requests for comment or responding with general statements about the search process still being in progress.