Northwest Indian College
Editor’s Note: I’ll be interviewing the new president of Northwest Indian College next week, but here’s a first look.
LUMMI RESERVATION — The dean of academics and distance learning for Northwest Indian College has become the college’s newest president.
Justin Guillory took over as president July 27.
He replaces Cheryl Crazy Bull, who has been appointed president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund.
She had been the college’s president since October 2002.
Guillory has served as the dean of academics and distance learning for the college since 2008.
He is a direct descendant of the Nez Perce tribe. He and his wife, Sunny Guillory, have three children. Sunny Guillory is of Lakota descent, and also works at NWIC as the financial literacy coordinator.
Guillory earned his master’s degree in educational administration at Washington State University, then returned to his home on the Nez Perce Reservation in Lapwai, Idaho, where he managed NWIC’s site there.
The college has six sites at tribal locations in Washington state and Idaho, where students can take classes or distance-learning courses.
He went on to pursue a doctoral in higher education administration at WSU, where he focused on native student success.
Guillory earned his doctorate in 2007.
He returned to NWIC as the dean of extended campuses and, in 2008, was promoted to dean of academics and distance learning.
As for Crazy Bull, she will replace Richard B. Williams, who will retire Sept. 30.
Established in 1989, the Colorado-based American Indian College Fund raises money for scholarships for American Indian students and to support the country’s 33 accredited tribal colleges.
Crazy Bull, a member of the Sicangu Band of the Lakota Nation, grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, a rural community of 33,000 enrolled tribal members in South Dakota.
She has more than 30 years of experience in tribal education, according to a news release from the American Indian College Fund. Crazy Bull also has served as president of the board of directors for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.
Native American weavers who are taking part in the annual “Weavers Teaching Weavers Gathering” at Northwest Indian College will be showing their technique and selling their work Saturday, April 14, in Bellingham.
The event runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Whatcom Museum’s Old City Hall, 121 Prospect St.
Organizers said the event is an opportunity to collect stunning traditional and contemporary native artwork.
The featured artist will be Carol Emarthle-Douglas, who will demonstrate contemporary coiled waxed linen basketweaving.
Northwest Indian College is co-sponsoring the event.
There is a $3 suggested donation. Museum members get in free.
Northwest Indian College has added a new program this fall – nursing assistant certification.
One of the college’s main goals is to help students find quality jobs, some of which may require short-term training programs. The nursing assistant certificate program, which takes a quarter to complete, is only the first of several health-care programs planned for the tribal college.
Students in the program have access to a mock hospital room, allowing them to practice skills on a manikin.
The next round of classes will start with spring quarter in April.
The school also plans to offer public continuing education classes for caregivers who need to update their credentials.
August is coming to an end, which means it’s time for kids, teenagers and teachers to head back to the classroom.
Below is a round-up of when school districts, colleges and private elementary, middle and high schools will start the school year.
Monday, Aug. 22: Baker View Christian School
Tuesday, Aug. 30: Lynden School District, Cornerstone Christian School, Lynden Christian Schools, including Evergreen Christian School in Bellingham.
Wednesday, Aug. 31: Blaine and Nooksack Valley school districts, St. Paul’s Academy, Whatcom Day Academy, Ebenezer Christian School,
Thursday, Sept. 1: Mount Baker School District, Assumption Catholic School
Tuesday, Sept. 6: Bellingham and Meridian school districts, Montessori at Samish Woods, Pioneer Meadows Montessori School, Bellingham Christian School, Explorations Academy. Wheels of Life School
Wednesday, Sept. 7: Ferndale School District, Lummi Nation Schools, Bridgeway Christian Academy, Whatcom Hills Waldorf School, Cedar Tree Montessori School (the first day for individual students will vary depending on age)
Monday, Sept. 12: WellSpring Academy of Arts & Sciences (arts and science career pathways classes will start the first week of October.)
Monday, Sept. 19: Northwest Indian College
Tuesday, Sept. 20: Whatcom Community College, Bellingham Technical College
Wednesday, Sept. 21: Western Washington University
Update: Blaine High School’s graduation is Monday, June 13. It’s corrected in the post below.
It’s June, which means thousands of teens and adults across Whatcom County will be earning high school and college degrees.
Below is a round-up of high school and college graduation ceremonies this month. Ceremonies are open to the public, unless otherwise noted.
There will be a special high school graduation section in the Sunday, June 12 print edition of The Bellingham Herald. Included in the section will be graduate lists, valedictorian bios and ceremony information for keepsake purposes.
HIGH SCHOOLS
Bellingham High School: Friday, June 10, 7 p.m. in the high school gym. Tickets are required.
Blaine High School: Monday, June 13, 6 p.m. in the high school gym.
Clearview High School: Senior Recognition Night, June 17, 6 p.m., North Bellingham campus. Graduates will also participate in the Ferndale High School ceremony.
Community Transitions (Bellingham School District): Wednesday, June 15, 7 p.m., Bellingham School District board room.
Explorations Academy: Thursday, June 9, 6:30 p.m. at the Squalicum Boat House.
Ferndale High School: Saturday, June 18, 11 a.m. at Ferndale High Memorial Field. Graduates from Clearview and Windward high schools will also participate in the ceremony.
Lummi High School: Thursday, June 16, 6 p.m. at the school. A dinner will start at 5 p.m.
Lynden High School: Friday, June 10, 7 p.m. at the school.
Lynden Christian High School: Thursday, June 9, 7 p.m. in the high school football stadium.
Meridian High School: Tuesday, June 14, 7 p.m. the high school gym.
Mount Baker High School: Wednesday, June 8, 6:30 p.m. at Bob Tisdale Field. Tickets are required.
Nooksack Valley High School: Friday, June 10, 7 p.m. at Sid Lambert Field or Kay LeMaster Gym, depending on the weather.
Options High School: Tuesday, June 14, 7 p.m. in Bellingham High School’s theatre.
Sehome High School: Monday, June 13, 6 p.m. at Western Washington University’s Carver Gymnasium. Doors willopen at 5 p.m.
St. Paul’s Academy: Wednesday, June 15, 6:30 p.m. in the new Upper School gym.
Squalicum High School: Saturday, June 11, 11 a.m. in the school gym. Tickets are required.
Windward High School: Senior Recognition Night, June 13, 7 p.m., North Bellingham campus. Graduates will also participate in the Ferndale High School ceremony.
COLLEGES
Bellingham Technical College: Tuesday, June 21, 7 p.m. at the Mount Baker Theatre. Tickets are required.
Northwest Indian College: Friday, June 17, 5 p.m. at the Wex’liem Lummi Community Building.
Western Washington University: Saturday, June 11 in Carver Gymasium. 9 a.m. – College of Business and Economics, College of Fine and Performing Arts, Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies and Huxley College of the Environment. 12:30 p.m. – College of Humanities and Social Sciences (Humanities Division) and Woodring College of Education. 4 p.m. – College of Humanities and Social Sciences (Social Sciences Division) and College of Sciences and Technology. Tickets are required for seating in Carver Gymnasium, however there will be overflow seating available in the Science, Mathematics and Technology Education building with the ceremony broadcast on a screen. The ceremony will also be broadcast live on Comcast channel 26.
Whatcom Community College: Friday, June 17, 6:30 p.m. in the Pavillion. Tickets are required to sit in the Pavillion, however there will be overflow seating in Heiner Theatre with the ceremony broadcast on a screen.
Thursday, March 10 is recognized as National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
To raise awareness, Northwest Indian College is hosting a lunch and walk from noon to 1 p.m. at the Lummi Fitness Center. Participants will receive a “healthy lunch,” as well as information on HIV/AIDS.
After lunch, participants will walk a mile on Kwina Road; people are asked to wear the color red.
Three Whatcom County colleges are receiving $250,000 grants after joining Achieveing the Dream, a national nonprofit organization that helps students in two-year college programs to succeed.
Bellingham Technical College, Northwest Indian College and Whatcom Community College are among 30 schools that joined the organization this year.
The schools will receive the grants over four years, with the goal of increasing the number of students enrolled and graduating from the colleges. As part of Achieving the Dream, colleges are required to gather data on student achievement and need and regularly update practices and policies based on the findings. For example, schools can gather data on achievement gaps between student groups, income levels of students, and where students run into financial or personal problems.
The 30 schools within the 2011 cohort group will share information with eachother, helping to guide priorities and measure progress. Other Washington schools in the new group include Skagit Valley College, Everett Community College, Lower Columbia College, Edmonds Community College, Clover Park Technical College, Spokane Falls Community College and Grays Harbor College.
Achieving the Dream was created in 2004 by the Lumina Foundation for Education and other organizations. The nonprofit current includes 160 colleges around the country. Other Washington schools in the organization include Seattle Central Community College, Tacoma Community College and Yakima Community College.
For more information, go to achievingthedream.org.
Northwest Indian College has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help preserve and revitalize the Coast Salish languages and cultures.
The money is specifically earmarked for the Coast Salish Institute, which was founded in 2004 to help incorporate tribal traditions and values into modern tribal society and to help collect historic resources and artifacts.
The grant offer requires the college to match double the amount of money; the college is “committed” to raising the $1 million, according to a news release.
The money will help the college build a new facility for the Coast Salish Institute; construction is expected to start in 2012. The college is currently part-way through a $43.9 million campaign to expand the college into a four-year university for native students. So far, about $35 million has been pledged and six buildings have been completed.
The 12,710-square-foot building will cost about $5.5 million and will include: performance space, a language lab, a story pit, a video production room, and a lecture and classroom space. The new building will also feature technology systems with distance learning capabilities, allowing the college to connect extended campuses and more than 20 tribal locations across the Pacific Northwest.
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