photo by: Shawn Valverde

Haskell Indian Nations University is pictured on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.

Two Kansas lawmakers called on the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide an update on Haskell Indian Nations University’s progress in the search for a permanent president.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann — both Republicans — wrote a letter to William “Billy” Kirkland, the assistant secretary for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, asking for an update on the search for a permanent president for the school, including providing anticipated timelines and a next step.

As the Journal-World reported, the school has been looking to find a permanent president since May 2025 when Frank Arpan abruptly announced his resignation. Since then, the school has had two interim presidents: Alex Red Corn, who was named as the temporary president on Jan. 26, and Mackie Moore, the Haskell business school dean who had served between Arpan’s departure and Red Corn’s appointment.

Moran and Mann’s letter to Kirkland said the school had “experienced significant leadership turnover in recent years, “noting prior to Kirkland’s appointment the school had seen six presidents in the past five years.

“That level of transition underscores the importance of establishing steady, permanent leadership to support institutional stability, which Haskell needs deeply,” Moran and Mann wrote.

As part of their requested update, Moran and Mann asked that the BIA provide:

• The status of the national search and a timeline for its completion

• The composition of the search committee, including whether (Haskell’s Board of) Regents, Tribal leaders, faculty, students and alumni are represented”

• Any challenges the Bureau has found in recruiting candidates with the necessary experience “to lead an intertribal institution of Haskell’s scope and responsibility”

Moran and Mann have been interested in creating legislation that would create a new, more independent governance model for Haskell, and the lawmakers — along with U.S. Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt (KS-02) — officially introduced the “Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act” in June 2025, as the Journal-World reported.

In the letter to the BIA, Moran and Mann wrote that Haskell has a “unique and historic role” as the only four-year, federally operated postsecondary institution operated under the Bureau of Indian Education, and it has “educated generations of Native students.” Since it operates as a tuition-free higher education option, Moran and Mann said the University remains important to many tribal Nations and families who have Haskell “as a pathway to opportunity,” and they said “its intertribal mission and unique governing structure require strong, consistent leadership.”