Renata Birkenbuel
ICT

The Haskell Indian Nations University faculty said in a Sept. 11, 2024, letter that former Haskell President Ronald Graham “grossly mischaracterized” the school during a congressional hearing amid allegations of sexual assault, bullying and retaliation at the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education-operated college.

The letter came in response to two congressional committees’ investigation of problems at the university and the Bureau of Indian Education’s delay in responding to a public records request and numerous complaints against the school.

The committees’ findings sought documents, communications and information from the bureau regarding the agency’s delayed report of sexual harassment, bullying, nepotism, fraud and drinking on the campus as part of a range of allegations – especially the bureau’s disregard of several cases of reported sexual assault.

The Education Committee and the Workforce and Natural Resources Committee — the two U.S. House committees with jurisdiction over the matter – launched their investigation earlier in July into “allegations of misconduct” involving the university and the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Education.

At issue is a reported one-year delay in the Bureau of Indian Education’s release of a highly redacted document after “students and other interested parties” asked the bureau to release the report, which was finalized in January 2023, reported the Kansas Reflector.

However, the bureau withheld that information for over a year. Meanwhile, the Haskell faculty readily appears to take responsibility for keeping students safe on campus in the future.

“The issues raised at the hearing were, for many of us, a rehash of old news – some serious, some imagined,” reads the Haskell Faculty Senate letter addressed to the campus and the community of Lawrence, Kans., the city where the university is located. “We acknowledge that sexual assault is a grave issue on many campuses, and Haskell is no exception.”

Faculty describe Graham, president for only a year from May 2020 to May 2021, as out-of-touch with students and faculty. He was also accused of suppressing students’ First Amendment rights when he reportedly ordered the student newspaper, The Indian Leader, to stop reporting under the threat of sanction in October 2020.

Similarly, Graham also directed Haskell faculty members in March 2021 to not engage in “defaming, slanderous, damaging and inflammatory” behavior. He warned that any “derogatory opinions” about administrators posted in media comments and on social media are not protected by academic freedom. The Lawrence Journal-World and Inside Higher Ed both reported on Graham’s statements.

The faculty letter continues:

“Unfortunately, much of Dr. Graham’s testimony grossly mischaracterized Haskell. This is likely due to how few interactions he had with members of the university and how little he cared to engage with Haskell’s students, faculty, staff, and the tribal nations Haskell serves.

“As federal employees, we take an oath to protect the U.S. Constitution. Former President Graham failed to uphold this oath by infringing on students’ and faculty’s First Amendment rights. During his brief tenure at Haskell, Dr. Graham seemed unable to grasp the concept and practice of shared governance and appeared generally uneducated about the unique American Indian and Alaska Native higher education environment and culture into which he stepped.”

Graham, who a Haskell employee said has taken a job in security for a state Social Security office, could not be reached for comment.

The faculty letter emerged as a response to a hearing in Washington, D.C, held in July. That’s when members of two U.S. House committees examined allegations of sexual assault, bullying and retaliation at Haskell, the Kansas Reflector reported.

In a July 2, 2024, letter from the two congressional committees to the Bureau of Indian Education, the committees said they were conducting “ongoing oversight into alleged misconduct involving the Haskell Indian Nations University.”

Students alleged Haskell failed to act on sexual abuse claims, bullying and retaliation and a wider swath of accusations, including retaliation and lack of response from administrators in power.

“The students of Haskell have been deprived of what should be the No. 1 guarantee in our educational system: a safe learning environment,” Rep. Burgess Owens, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, said during the July hearing.

Following the end of the Graham administration, the faculty reported that under new President Francis Arpan, Yankton Dakota, the university “has taken significant steps” toward addressing student complaints. Those steps include establishing new leadership personnel to address complaints: vice presidents for academics and university operations, a dean of students, four permanent academic deans, a housing director, a student accessibility coordinator and a student success director.

“Under the leadership of Dr. Arpan, Haskell has seen a number of positive developments,” reads the faculty letter.

The faculty insists Arpan, hired in May 2023, is righting the ship, given the following improvements on campus: 

  • Enrollment has steadily increased from 701 students in Fall 2021 to 984 students registered for the Fall 2024 semester (pre-Census Day count).
  • A 24-hour access service to mental health services is now available to all students and employees.
  • The number of staff positions has increased from 144 to 175 between May 2022 and May 2024.
  • The number of full-time faculty numbers has increased from 28 to 39 between May 2022 and August 2024.

Admittedly, the letter points out, not all faculty are privy to all confidential details, but the faculty points to accomplishments and solutions meant to keep students safe.

“We stand united in our efforts to fulfill this vision, regardless of the challenges we face,” reads the letter. “We want to dispel the notion that Haskell faculty are indifferent to the well-being of our students. On the contrary, we have demonstrated unwavering resilience and dedication through years of administrative upheaval and even the global challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We kept classes going, managed grants, engaged in professional development, and remained active within the Lawrence community – all while continuing to nurture and educate the next generation of Indigenous leaders.”

Promoted from within, Arpan previously worked as vice president of academics at Haskell. He also served as dean of academics at Sisseton Wahpeton College and various positions at the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, Aims Community College, and Southern New Hampshire University.

Haskell is the only four-year college the Bureau of Indian Education operates.

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