photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The campus of Haskell Indian Nations University is pictured Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025.

Some more Haskell Indian Nations University employees who were laid off last month — including custodians, athletic personnel and some administrative assistants — will be returning, according to a letter from Haskell’s president this week.

The letter from President Frank Arpan, which is dated March 26 and was posted on the Haskell Student Government Association’s social media, outlines how staffing has changed at the university in the wake of the layoffs. In addition to naming several staff members who have had to fill new roles, the letter says that custodial personnel, “several” administrative assistants and athletic personnel who were laid off “will be returning.”

The letter did not specify how many staff members would be returning, nor whether they were being permanently reinstated or on a temporary contract.

It’s now been about a month and a half since nearly 40 people, including seven instructors, were laid off at Haskell pursuant to an order from the Trump administration to significantly shrink the federal workforce. In early March, 14 employees were offered their jobs back, but many others were still in limbo, and students reported that the disruption had a big impact on their education.

Arpan’s letter also included some other information about operations at the university, including that the staff had been trying to make up for the loss of Haskell’s academic advisers. It said the university’s leadership “has been working to get every student assigned to a faculty advisor.”

The letter also said that some student workers had been hired to help with custodial duties, and that the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation “has graciously offered to partner with Haskell to provide temporary custodial support.”

“There are still questions, and we are continuing to work through them,” Arpan’s letter said. “Our priority is to provide accurate updates once information and resources are finalized rather than release details that are not confirmed.”