30 Executives Chosen for Kellogg MSI Leadership Fellows Program
Published May 15, 2014
Washington, D.C., Aug. 12, 2004—The Alliance for Equity in Higher Education has announced the selection of 30 distinguished leaders for the Kellogg MSI Leadership Fellows Program, an innovative and groundbreaking initiative designed to train the next generation of presidents and other senior leaders at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). The Class of 2005, which includes 10 Fellows each from the American Indian, Hispanic, and African American communities, completed a full week of orientation and seminars in Washington, DC in early August.
The Kellogg MSI Leadership Fellows Program has been fashioned to provide hands-on, practical skill building that is specifically rooted in and across institutional communities that have not been adequately served by other types of leadership programs. The fact that program participants all benefit from a “two for one” experience—grounding in their own community, while also learning from and with others who share a common history of discrimination and disempowerment—makes this a truly unique and special program.
The three partner organizations that make up the Alliance are: AIHEC, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium; HACU, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; and NAFEO, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. These organizations represent more than 350 MSIs including Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Alliance, a first-of-its-kind national coalition of associations and institutions that serve students of color, launched this leadership initiative last year with the support of a four-year, $6 million grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
The specific focus of the Kellogg MSI Fellows program is the preparation of leaders for presidential and senior-level leadership. Organizers predict that by the end of this decade, at least half of the individuals who participate in the leadership training program will have served or will be serving as a president, provost, or other high-level senior leader at a minority-serving college or university.
The Class of 2005 Kellogg MSI Leadership Fellows includes:
- Valery Y. R. Bates-Brown, Assistant Vice President for Academic Support Services
Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA, NAFEO - Roxann Bighorn, Director, Career Ladder Teacher Training
Fort Peck Community College, Poplar, MT, AIHEC - William Belisle, Grants, Sponsored Research and Contracts Officer
Southern University at New Orleans, LA, NAFEO - Felicia Casados, Dean of Planning and Special Projects
Northern New Mexico Community College, Espanola, NM, HACU - Ben M. Corpus, V-P for Student Development and Enrollment Management
Hostos Community College, South Bronx, NY, HACU - Jozi De Leon, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, HACU - Jeronimo Dominguez, Vice Provost of Extended University
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, HACU - Theresa Dorsett, Support Services Coordinator
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, NM, AIHEC - Kenoye K. Eke, Provost and V-P for Academic and Student Affairs
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Cheyney, PA, NAFEO - Kassie Freeman, Dean of the Division of Education and Psychological Studies
Dillard University, New Orleans, LA, NAFEO - George T. French, Jr., Director, Institutional Planning and Development
Miles College, Birmingham, AL, NAFEO - Olivia Vanegas-Funcheon, V-P of Administration Services
Tohono O’odham Tribal College, Sells, AZ, AIHEC - Alfredo G. Gonzalez, Dean, Undergraduate Studies
California State University, Los Angeles, CA, HACU - Haven Gorneau , Financial Aid Director
Fort Peck Community College, Poplar, MT, AIHEC - Elmer Guy, V-P of Academic/Student Services
Crownpoint Institute of Technology, Crownpoint, NM, AIHEC - Christopher N. Jefferies, V-P for Academic Affairs
Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, AL, NAFEO - Ron LaDue , Development Officer
Blackfeet Community College, Browning, MT, AIHEC - Douglas Lohnes, Natural Resources Instructor
Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Fort Totten, ND, AIHEC - Perry Massey, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC, NAFEO - David Oreiro, V-P for Tribal Prosperity
Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, WA, AIHEC - Jaime Ortiz, Director, Office of International Programs
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, HACU - Rodolfo Rocha, Dean, College of Arts and Humanities
The University of Texas, Pan American, Edinburg, TX, HACU - Cynthia Daniels Sellers, V-P for Student Affairs
Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, NAFEO - Hector Sepulveda, Clinical Assistant Professor; Special Assistant to V-P for Healthcare Advocacy; Director for Community Outreach and Education
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, HACU - Santiago Silva, V-P for Student Services and Development
South Texas Community College, McAllen, TX, HACU - Carmen Taylor, Executive Director
National Indian School Board Association, Polson, MT, AIHEC - Rita Jackson Teal, Interim V-P for Academic Affairs
South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC, NAFEO - Santos Torres, Jr., Graduate Program Director, Division of Social Work
California State University, Sacramento, CA, HACU - Chad Waukechon, Interim Director, Education Outreach Extension
College of Menominee Nation, Keshena, WI, AIHEC - Angelina Young Weaver, Executive Assistant to the President; Interim V-P for Student Affairs
Grambling State University, Grambling, LA, NAFEO
The intensive program includes a seminar or meeting virtually every month for the academic year, usually guided by a faculty of current and former presidents with specific expertise in managing the unique context of MSIs. The seminars focus on diverse issues ranging from institutional finances to government affairs to the use of information technology. Fellows also work in small groups on a collaborative project that addresses a real issue or need of interest for all three communities of institutions. Each Fellow also works with a mentor or model president throughout the year, learning from an experienced contemporary CEO of an MSI.
