Expanding the Future of Tribal Education

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 1

Office of University

Partnerships

Tribal Colleges and

Universities Program

More than 30,000 students attendthe 34 tribally controlled community colleges located across the

United States and earn associate’s, 

bachelor’s, and master’s degrees in 

more than 200 disciplines. The growth 

of tribal schools and the changing demographics of the population they serve

place increasing demand for classrooms,

laboratories, libraries, and general meeting spaces to meet the needs of students,

faculty, and staff. 

Aging Facilities Pose Problems

According to the Institute for Higher

Education Policy in Options for a 

Federal Role in Infrastructure

Development at Tribal Colleges and

Universities, infrastructure and capital

financing needs are among the most significant challenges facing these institutions. Because campuses consist of a

patchwork of aging buildings that were

not intended to be higher education facilities, the quality and number of facilities

are serious problems for tribal colleges.

Many of the colleges operate out of 

abandoned or donated buildings that 

have leaking roofs and crumbling foundations. In many cases, blueprints are 

not available for buildings, creating

obstacles and adding to renovation 

costs, according to the report. 

continued on page 2

Although many of these institutions of

higher education (IHEs) identify facility

maintenance and construction as a high

priority, most are forced to appropriate

funds for instruction-related expenses.

Since its inception, the U.S. Department

of Housing and Urban Development’s

(HUD’s) Tribal Colleges and Universities

Program (TCUP) has provided assistance

through a competitive grant program to

help nonprofit tribal IHEs address their

need for capital development. 

TCUP Supports Capital Improvements

When meeting to discuss the priorities 

for the President’s Executive Order on

Tribal Colleges and Universities, tribal

Growth Places Increased Demand on Space

college presidents collectively identified

capital development as their primary 

concern. In particular, they cited the need

for facility renovation and construction.

This included building suitable student

housing and instructional buildings, purchasing new equipment, and overseeing

facility maintenance and waivers of the

matching requirements for infrastructure

programs. TCUP is designed to help tribal

IHEs build, expand, renovate, and equip

their facilities, especially those facilities

that are used by or are available to the

larger community.

Each funded activity must benefit lowand moderate-income persons, aid in the

preservation or elimination of slums or

blight, or meet other urgent community

development needs for which no other

financial resources are available, according

to HUD’s 2004 SuperNOFA. Two recent

grantees used TCUP funds to complete

innovative building projects that reflect

each tribal community’s unique culture 

and address their need for improved physical environments. 

Tribal Colleges Renew and Expand

In Minnesota, the Leech Lake Tribal

College used its TCUP funds to consolidate and construct replacement classroom

space. A new 17,000-square-foot building

With the assistance of TCUP

funds, tribal colleges and 

universities continue to 

renovate and expand their

physical facilities to meet 

the growing educational

needs of their students,

faculty, and staff, as well 

as their communities.
TCUP Central is a free publication prepared

by the University Partnerships Clearinghouse, the information service sponsored 

by HUD’s Office of University Partnerships

(OUP). TCUP Central highlights the contributions of TCUPs to local community efforts. You

may contact the University Partnerships

Clearinghouse at (800) 245-2691. See the

Office of University Partnerships 

on the World Wide Web at

http://www.oup.org.

provides classrooms, a library, and office

space. When complete, the entire complex

will resemble the thunderbird, a sacred

symbol in the Ojibwe culture.

On the Menominee Indian Reservation in

Wisconsin, the College of the Menominee

Nation is using TCUP funds to expand

Shirley Daly Hall, the building that contains most of the school’s classrooms. 

The school has undergone tremendous

growth over the past 12 years, expanding

from an initial enrollment of 42 students 

to its current 600 enrollees each semester.

The new space, made possible with the

TCUP funds, will relieve classroom

crowding and allow the school to schedule

classes at times convenient for its growing

student population. 

With the assistance of TCUP funds, tribal

colleges and universities continue to 

renovate and expand their physical facilities to meet the growing educational 

needs of their students, faculty, and staff 

as well as their communities. These new

libraries, classrooms, and other spaces 

will serve the ever-increasing number of

students enrolling at tribal colleges and 

universities nationwide. ❊

Growth Places continued from page 1

2 / TCUP Central 

T he thunderbird plays a prominent rolein many Native American cultures. It

is the focus of many legends and is portrayed as a sacred power, protector, and

trickster. According to Ojibwe culture, the

first thunderbird in the spring blesses all

life with water from the sky. Because of its

significant role in the Ojibwe culture, it

seems only fitting that the Leech Lake

Tribal College (LLTC) in Minnesota honor

the thunderbird in the design of the college’s new consolidated campus. 

New Campus Takes Shape

Currently, LLTC consists of five buildings

scattered across the town of Cass Lake, on

the Leech Lake Reservation. The old buildings have obsolete plumbing, electrical, and

HVAC systems and deteriorating infrastructure. They are not handicap accessible and

are costly to lease and operate. 

“The existing physical environment clearly

demonstrates the need for a new campus,”

says Leah J. Carpenter, president of LLTC.

A singular, consolidated campus will 

help us fulfill our mission of offering highquality academic programs grounded in

Ojibwe culture.” 

The new campus is designed to look like a

thunderbird from the air. The first phase of

the project was the classroom building, for

which LLTC used its TCUP grant funds to

help pay for construction. The 17,000-

square-foot building contains 8 classrooms,

a large open area for 15 workstations to

accommodate faculty and student services

staff, a small library, bookstore, vending

area, conference room, and 2 private offices

for the associate vice presidents of academics and student services. 

“The project, which began in April 2004

and was completed in March 2005, is 

in the shape of the first wing of the thunderbird,” says Carpenter. “It will open 

officially in May 2005 with a projected 

student capacity of 312. It will allow us 

to vacate three of our existing facilities,

which are substandard, inadequate, and

costly to operate and maintain.” 

In addition to its TCUP grant, the college

also received funding from the American

Indian College Fund, Leech Lake Band 

of Ojibwe, the American Indian Higher

Education Consortium, and the U.S.

Department of Agriculture to assist with 

the construction. 

The second wing of the thunderbird (phase

two) is underway and will contain additional classrooms and office space. Other

phases of the project include the construction of the body of the thunderbird and will

house administrative offices, an expanded

library, and a cafeteria. The tail of the thunderbird will house a community center and

gymnasium, and the head will house a

commons area that will connect the two

wings, body, and tail. Once finished, the

entire thunderbird structure will be completely joined, with the body serving as 

the connecting structure. 

Accreditation Now Probable

According to Carpenter, the new campus

will help LLTC achieve academic accreditation. In order for a college to receive academic accreditation, it must demonstrate

that it has the infrastructure, capacity, and

Thunderbird Becomes Theme for

College Expansion

Leah J. Carpenter, LLTC President.

continued on page 3
Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Mille Lacs, 

and White Earth. However, non-Native

Americans comprise about 9 percent of the

student population. 

For more information on LLTC, contact:

Leah J. Carpenter, J.D., President, Leech

Lake Tribal College, P.O. Box 180, Cass

Lake, MN 56633; phone: (218) 335–4200.

Leah J. Carpenter has been with LLTC

since 2001 and is an enrolled member of

the White Earth Band of Ojibwe,

Minnesota, Chippewa Tribe. Formerly an

attorney, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in

American Indian Studies from the

University of Arizona, Tucson. ❊

3 / TCUP Central 

financial resources to operate into the

future as an institution of higher education.

The infrastructure requirements include

physical facilities that are safe, conducive

to learning, and handicap accessible. 

“The new campus will provide state-ofthe-art technology services and create an

atmosphere that cultivates lifelong intellectual, aesthetic, and cultural interests,” says

Carpenter. “LLTC has spent much of its

resources to lease, maintain, and operate

five inadequate buildings. Classes have

been disrupted, buildings closed, and

offices vacated when heating systems fail

or the roof leaks or falls in. Now, LLTC

can allocate those resources toward the

instructional and student services needs 

of our students.” 

Over the Top of the Learning Curve

According to Carpenter, the biggest challenge, the lack of construction management experience, occurred as LLTC began 

construction of its new campus. “We all

experienced a huge learning curve as we

developed on-the-job construction experience,” says Carpenter. 

Another challenge for LLTC was meeting

the requirements of the various funding

agencies while simultaneously making a 

plan for construction startup, developing a

timetable for payment of construction

expenses, and ultimately completing the

project in a timely fashion and within

existing budget constraints. 

As LLTC and its stakeholders embark on

construction of the second wing, the lessons learned in the construction of the

phase 1 classroom building remain fresh 

in their minds, and they anticipate a

smoother process as they continue to 

build their thunderbird. 

LLTC primarily serves members of the

Leech Lake Tribe, Red Lake Ojibwe

Nation, and other bands of the Minnesota

Chippewa Tribe, including Bois Forte,

Thunderbird design for new consolidated campus.

Growth Places continued from page 1
4 / TCUP Central 

What happens when academic institutions make long-term

financial and human investments in their local neighborhoods? The answer lies within The Power of Partnership, a special

anniversary report that chronicles the 10-year evolution of the

Community Outreach Partnership Centers (COPC) program,

assesses its success in introducing community engagement to

academic institutions, and discusses some of the core ingredients for effective campus-community partnerships. 

In neighborhoods nationwide, COPC grantees are responding

to the most urgent needs of urban communities, providing public service projects and instructional programs, job training and

counseling, resident-backed strategies to spur economic growth

and reduce crime, youth mentoring programs, and financial and

technical assistance for new businesses. The Power of Partnership

highlights the nationwide impact of the program’s initiatives on

the individuals who live and work in COPC neighborhoods and

honors those who have invested their time and expertise in collaborative efforts to galvanize neighborhood revitalization. It

includes compelling personal stories such as these: 

❁ Hispanic mothers in California receive support to pursue

college degrees while participating in an applied research

project aimed at finding ways to help other women. 

❁ A West Philadelphia anthropology professor’s urban 

health initiative changes nutrition-related habits in city

schools while simultaneously rejuvenating his own teaching and providing his students the opportunity to put 

theory into practice. 

❁ A city official in Rhode Island who relies on a university to

do what his city did not have the resources to do—build

the capacity of local residents so they could reverse their

neighborhood’s steady decline. 

❁ An Illinois graduate student’s social

work internships give her the skills

and confidence she needs to establish a civic association that is working to rid her own neighborhood

of crime and drugs. 

The report also includes insightful contributions from former OUP directors

on issues such as empowering and

improving local communities, improving relations between campus and community, and helping HUD fulfill its mission. It also provides a list

of COPC grantees from the program’s inception to the present.

To view a PDF file of The Power of Partnership, visit

www.oup.org/pubs/copc10.html. You may obtain a free copy of

the publication from the University Partnerships Clearinghouse

at (800) 245–2691. ◆

OUP Report Celebrates Community

Engagement

Building Renovations at Cankdeska Cikana

Community College 

Cankdeska Cikana Community College in Fort Totten,

North Dakota, used its TCUP grant to upgrade various

buildings on campus. They contracted architects, electricians, plumbers, and various other tradesmen to assist

with the renovations. 

The first project involved adding air conditioning to

eight existing classrooms. The students, staff members, and community members ranked air conditioning

as the number one priority in a needs assessment conducted by the college. The project involved a great deal

of renovation and repairs, resulting in eight new air

conditioners housed on the roof and vented into each

classroom. A suspended ceiling covers all the sheet

metal ducts. Also, new energy-efficient light fixtures

were installed, and each classroom was painted and 

fitted with new electrical and fire alarm systems. 

Science classroom space was another area of concern

for the college. The previous science classroom was

small and in need of renovation. The college built 

four new classrooms, which enables the students 

and science faculty to share information through the

Interactive Video Network System. In addition, two

older buildings received new siding, insulation, and

wall repairs.

Academic Facility Construction at 

Stone Child College 

With the help of its TCUP funds, Stone Child College, Box

Elder, Montana, will construct the Stone Child College

Academic Facility. The new facility will allow the college to

expand curriculum offerings, update its computer technologies, and allow for growth in the student population. 

The new facility will replace an existing structure that

poses health and safety risks, is inadequate in both size

and environment, and is unable to support the level of

technology required to meet educational standards. It

will include 11 classrooms to accommodate 20 to 25

students each, replacing 7 makeshift classrooms and

adding 4 new classrooms to the college’s inventory. It

will also help to meet student demand for more extensive and up-to-date computer facilities and science

labs. The facility will have the capacity to increase the

college’s student population by at least 100 students—

the current enrollment is about 400—and provide

space for training and educational services to the general public. ◆

Spotlight on Expansion 

and Renovation
5 / TCUP Central 

five new lecture-style classrooms in the science wing. Office space for 11 of CMN’s

full-time faculty will be constructed in the

basement level. “This will ease the burden

of scheduling classes at times that are

inconvenient for students but essential

given the shortage of instructional space,”

says YoungBear-Tibbetts.

The additional classrooms are intended 

to relieve crowding and allow for

increased enrollments and additional

course offerings, particularly in the science-technology-engineering-mathematics

curriculum. In addition, they will allow 

for a higher caliber and better delivery of

educational programming at CMN, ultimately offering more economic opportunities for the students, who are largely

When it was organized 12 years 

ago on the Menominee Indian

Reservation, the College of Menominee

Nation (CMN) in Keshena, Wisconsin,

served primarily adult part-time students

who favored evening and weekend 

classes. Today, it serves primarily fulltime students ages 15 to 24, which has 

created the need for more available space

and course scheduling options. With the

help of its most recent TCUP grant, CMN

will undertake an expansion of Shirley

Daly Hall, the college’s primary instructional facility, to help address these needs.

CMN serves five native nations and neighboring communities in its region. In 12

years its enrollment has increased from 42

students to some 600 students each semester. “While such growth is a testimony of

the high quality of education we offer, it

also poses challenges for classroom space

for academic instruction, community outreach, and training activities for a growing 

student population,” explains Holly

YoungBear-Tibbetts, the college’s dean of

external relations and director of the

Sustainable Development Institute. 

The Shirley Daly Hall expansion project

supports CMN’s strategic plan for building

a campus that meets the current and longterm needs of the institution and community. It will allow the college to add 9,600

square feet of instructional space, providing

Expansion Improves Instructional Facility 

Dr. Verna Fowler, College President

comprised of low-income, underserved

populations. New facilities will also 

provide better technology; increased accessibility; and, with the completion of the

faculty office center, an improved sense 

of communication, organization, and 

community among and between faculty

members and students at CMN.

“We are proceeding on schedule with our

current TCUP project,” says YoungBearTibbetts. “We anticipate that we will have

a ground blessing in late June 2005 for a

July 1 construction startup.” 

With Expansion Comes Challenges

CMN’s expansion project is not proceeding without challenges. “We face escalating costs of materials due to demands by

Florida reconstruction efforts, and spiraling energy costs that are driving up the

cost of both material and labor,” says

YoungBear-Tibbetts. “Also, development

in rural areas always costs much more 

than it does in urban areas. It is difficult 

to build anything in our rural region for

less than $1 million, so we are frequently

forced to engage in incremental construction,” she explains. “Moreover, a 

late spring, with the frost only now leaving, and the ground still soggy and moisture-laden, prohibits heavy equipment

use,” she adds.

Left: Shirley Daly Hall, focus of CMN's current expansion project. Right: Campus Commons, developed with a previous TCUP award,

provides recreational space for campus and community events. 

continued on page 6
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Washington, DC 20410–3000

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Expansion continued from page 5

Despite the challenges, YoungBear-Tibbetts and other project

staff are not daunted. “We were awarded the Business of the Year

award by the regional chamber of commerce for our leadership,

excellence, and contribution to the economic well-being of the

area,” she explains. “We’d be worried if we were not challenged,

because it would suggest that we’ve stopped pushing the envelope. We will continue to provide high-quality higher education,

mobilize and manage resources prudently, and be a positive,

proactive force in transforming our rural economy while building

the capacity of the five native nations we serve,” says

YoungBear-Tibbetts.

The 2005 TCUP grant is the second such award for CMN. 

The first award underwrote capital costs for the development 

of a campus commons, which provides organizational and recreational space for the campus and community. It also provides 

students with a place to meet, study, and eat between classes.

Dr. Verna Fowler, CMN president, sums up the college’s feeling

toward their TCUP award in this statement: “We are extremely

grateful for the award made by HUD’s Office of University

Partnerships. Through this expansion project, TCUP is helping to

transform the lives of our students, our reservation, and our region.”

For more information on CMN’s expansion project, contact: 

Dr. Holly YoungBear-Tibbetts, director, Sustainable Development

Institute, College of Menominee Nation; phone: (715) 799-5600,

ext. 3044; e-mail: hyoungbear@menominee.edu.

Holly YoungBear-Tibbetts is an alumnus of the University of

Wisconsin-Madison where she earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in geography. Her primary scholarly interest is native land issues, and

she convened an international conference on sustainable development titled “Sharing Indigenous Wisdom: An International

Dialogue on Sustainable Development.” ❊