American Indian Education Research Center established

The College of Education at Penn State announces the formation of the Center for the Study of Leadership in American Indian Education.

The mission of the new center is to conduct research and outreach that helps inform the public and improve the education of American Indians and Alaska Natives at the local, state, tribal, national and international levels.

The center, housed in the Education Policy Studies Department, will serve as a clearinghouse on American Indian/Alaska Native education research, policy and practice. It is expected to significantly increase the amount and quality of research and publications in the field of Indian education and disseminate research findings to practicing educators and policy makers.

John W. Tippeconnic, professor of educational leadership, and Susan C. Faircloth, assistant professor of educational leadership, will serve as the center's co-directors.

The center will build on and extend Penn State's tradition of preparing leaders in the field of American Indian and Alaska Native education. Penn State also is the home of the American Indian Leadership Program (AILP), directed by Tippeconnic. The AILP is the nation's longest continuously operating educational leadership program for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Since 1970, the AILP has graduated nearly 215 American Indian/Alaska Native students. These graduates have earned master's and doctoral degrees in educational administration/leadership and special education and have gone on to assume leadership positions at a variety of levels. The AILP and the research center will work collaboratively to maintain a focus on the preparation of educational leaders.

The co-directors envision hosting an annual research and policy institute, in collaboration with Indian studies programs that are tied to the Big Ten's Committee on Institutional Cooperation and other organizations. They also anticipate sponsoring a research-focused pre-conference event to be held in conjunction with a national conference, such as the annual meeting of the National Indian Education Association.