January 24, 2025

AIHEC WEEKLY UPDATE

The Collective Spirit and Unifying Voice of our Nation's Tribal Colleges and Universities

HIGHLIGHTS

Higher Learning Commission Conference Gather Space for TCUs

HLC is once again providing the Wrigley room for TCUs to use as a “drop in” room during the conference. The room will remain unlocked, and can be access on Saturday, April 5 through Monday, April 7, 2025

Advancing HUD's Learning Agenda through Cooperative Agreements Funding Opportunity

On January 10th, HUD/PD&R issued a new funding opportunity: Advancing HUD's Learning Agenda through Cooperative Agreements with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Alaska Native/ Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions. This NOFO provides $10 million to advance knowledge in the housing and community development field while strengthening research capacity within eligible minority-serving institutions.  

 

 PD&R has identified a subset of research questions adapted from HUD’s Learning Agenda that are the focus of this NOFO. The research questions are grouped under seven broad topic areas: (1) Community Development and Place-Based Initiatives, (2) Disaster Recovery, (3) Fair Housing, (4) Homelessness, (5) Homeownership, Asset Building, and Economic Opportunity, (6) Housing and Health, and (7) American Indian, Alaska Native, and/or Native Hawaiian Housing Needs. We are committed to involving a greater range of perspectives, methods, and researchers in HUD research and policy development, and believe that MSIs are uniquely positioned to address the selected research questions in a manner that could amplify the impact of the research findings at the state and local level. 

 

 Interested institutions are encouraged to visit PD&R’s webpage for minority-serving institutions. Potential applicants should carefully review the NOFO for the application instructions. Applications are due April 9, 2025. For more information on this funding opportunity, please visit HUD’s NOFO webpage or grants.gov. Any questions from potential applicants can be sent to MSIResearchFY24@hud.gov

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Awards for Faculty at Tribal Colleges and Universities

Research related to tribal or institutional priorities, goals, or interests; Development of materials in support of sustaining, preserving, and revitalizing culture or language; Research leading to the improvement of a single existing undergraduate or graduate course; Development of a humanities seminar for students at the affiliated institution and/or members of the local community; Digital Resource or Publication; Edition; Translation.



Optional draft due February 14, 2025

Deadline April 9, 2025

Learn more!

Clear the Air, Leave a Legacy! Apply for Truth Initiative’s Tobacco/Nicotine-Free Grant

Truth Initiative is providing colleges and universities a two-year grant, up to $20,000 total, to support either the adoption or implementation and enforcement of a 100% tobacco/nicotine-free policy and promote quitting through EX Program. EX Program is a comprehensive and free digital cessation intervention that has helped millions of people on their journeys to quit smoking, vaping, or any tobacco or nicotine product. The Truth Initiative College Grant Program empowers young adults by fostering student leadership and peer-to-peer engagement, inspiring them to raise awareness about the impact of nicotine on mental health, drive policy change and/or compliance and support quitting efforts. 

 

Grantees will receive an in-person training, educational webinars and one on consultation throughout the grant period.

For more information, including the grant guidelines and link to the online application, please visit: truthinitiative.org/tobacco-nicotine-free-college-program. Register for our upcoming informational webinars on January 30th or February 19th at 3pm (ET).


Please direct questions to Vera Kuma at vkuma@truthinitiative.org.

EVENTS & WEBINARS TO CHECK OUT

TCU Students!

Get Your Teams Together for the AIHEC Student Conference Drone Challenge!

2025 Fellowship dates:

·   June 17 - 20, 2025 Virtual Cohort

·   July 15 - 18, 2025 Campus Cohort, Purdue University West Lafayette, IN

 

This program is fully funded by foundations and donors; if selected, there is no cost to the students or the college for travel, housing, food, or program materials.  

 

For more information on where to apply.

https://www.mfri.purdue.edu/focus-forward-fellowship/

The GA6 Conference will be held April 24-25, 2025 at Duke University. 


‘Geoscience and Environmental Justice in Indigenous Communities’.

You can find more information about the conference, draft agenda, opportunity to submit proposals to lead workshops, and registration and travel scholarship application forms on the conference website: https://geosciencealliance.org/ga-6-conference/.

JOB/INTERNSHIP

ANNOUNCEMENTS

USDA 1994 Tribal Scholars Program – Applications Now Open



The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that applications are now open for the 1994 Tribal Scholars Program.

This initiative provides scholarships, paid work experience, and potential federal employment to Tribal College and University (TCU) students pursuing studies in agriculture, food, natural resources, and related disciplines. The program aims to strengthen USDA’s partnerships with TCUs and support American Indian and Alaskan Native students in building careers in these critical fields. Interested applicants must submit an application, resume, essay, two letters of recommendation, and recent academic transcripts to be considered.


Application Deadline: The application deadline is January 31, 2025.


The official announcement is available in the USDA's recent press release.



To learn more about the program and eligibility, visit the 1994 Tribal Scholars Program website or email 1994@usda.gov

Learn more

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is pleased to announce the Coastal Resilience Fellowship

The Coastal Resilience Fellowship, will place 33 fellows with Climate Resilience Regional Challenge projects and will be funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. This fellowship is a two-year opportunity (June 2025 to June 2027), offering a competitive salary of $42,000 to $56,000, depending on the cost of living in the fellowship location, plus medical benefits and travel and relocation expense reimbursement. Eligibility requirements can be found on the Coastal Resilience Fellowship webpage.


In July 2024, NOAA announced recipients of the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge awards. This one-time funding opportunity of $575 million was provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, and 19 projects received between $1 million and $75 million for work focused on increasing resilience to extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes and storm surge) and longer-term, chronic hazards (e.g., sea level rise, drought, wildfire, extreme heat, and coastal erosion). Each project is eligible to receive up to two fellows to support implementation of the projects and provide learning and professional development opportunities for the selected fellows.


The application period opens on December 2, 2024, when descriptions of the fellowship opportunities will be posted on the NOAA Coastal Resilience Fellowship website. Interested applicants should apply by February 29, 2025. Selection will occur in the spring prior to the June 2025 start date.

FIND THESE AND OTHER JOBS HERE AT THE TRIBAL COLLEGE JOURNAL JOB BOARD

SKC Moves Forward with New Interim President

Salish Kootenai College’s board of directors appointed Dr. Stacey Sherwin as interim president. She holds a PhD in educational administration and has dedicated over 30 years of service to SKC.

Read more

The Informative Speech

Our columnist shares the two necessities of every informative speech.

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Tribal College Journal On Campus

Tribal College & University News Round-up

Other News

Unseen and Undercounted: Indigenous Students Misrepresented at GU

The Colonial & Paternalistic Practice of Imposing Blood Quantum

OPEN EDUCATION

Interested in learning more about Cherokee traditional teachings? Read Cherokee Earth Dwellers: Stories and Teachings of the Natural World, a free eBook from the University of Washington.

Find it here
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED

Honoring James Lester Davis

With heartfelt sorrow we say goodbye to Jim Davis, a great leader in the Tribal College Movement.


Condolences to his family, friends, staff and students at Turtle Mountain College, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

Read more

Report on Native Higher Education Success Strategies

Read the Report Here
Read more

'For the sake of the nation': Tribal colleges revitalize language, culture

Department of Labor Press Release

National Advisory Council on Indian Education Improvement Act Signed into Law by President Biden on December 23rd!

This act requires the President to ensure that the National Advisory Council on Indian Education includes at least one member who is the president of a tribal college or university.

S.5355 - NACIE Improvement Act

DOE Announces $11M to Improve Large-Scale Solar Siting Outcomes for Wildlife, Ecosystems, and Communities

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office just announced the Solar with Wildlife and Ecosystem Benefits 2 (SolWEB2) notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), which will invest up to $11 million in research and development, technical assistance, and stakeholder engagement projects that improve the compatibility of large-scale solar facilities with wildlife and facilitate the dual use of land for agricultural and solar energy production (agrivoltaics). Submit concept papers by February 14.

SKC Awarded Postsecondary Success Recognition Program

Salish Kootenai College was one of the first six post-secondary institutions awarded!

Read more

NICC to Launch Bachelor’s Degree in Indigenous Environmental Health

Read more

The Society of American Foresters (SAF) and the USDA Forest Service are hosting a webinar series that will review the results of the 2020 Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment (registration link). The webinar series will consist of eight webinars running from January 15 through February 7, 2025 (2-3PM Eastern time) and a ninth webinar on February 11, 2025 (1:30-3PM Eastern time). The first eight webinars will each focus on a different resource area covered by the 2020 RPA Assessment, while the ninth webinar will offer an expert panel discussion on the value and uses of the RPA Assessment.

The RPA Assessment is a legislatively mandated, recurring assessment of the past trends, current status, and projected 50-year futures of renewable resources across all forests and rangelands in the United States. For almost 50 years, the RPA Assessment has been used to support policy and land management decision making, and has enabled the U.S. Forest Service and other organizations to incorporate both socioeconomic and climatic change into land management. The RPA Assessment summarizes current forest and rangeland conditions and trends on all ownerships; identifies economic, social, and biophysical drivers of change; and projects the availability and condition of renewable resources 50 years into the future. The RPA Assessment provides trends and projections for the U.S. land base, disturbance agents, forest resources including forest carbon, forest product markets, rangeland resources, water resources, wildlife and fish, and outdoor recreation, examining the effects of socioeconomic and climatic change on these resources. The 2020 RPA Assessment, published in July 2023, was the sixth assessment released in response to the Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (Public Law 93–378; 16 U.S.C. 1600, et seq., as amended).



 You can register for the full webinar series together or for each session individually on the SAF ForestEd registration page. Please note that you will need to register for a free SAF ForestEd account in order to participate in these live webinars or view the recordings. Continuing education credits will be offered for each webinar.

Federal Communications Commission Update

On October 28, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the launch of the Tribal Library E-Rate Advocacy Program (T-LEAP). This program builds on the Tribal Library Pilot Program from the past two years. T-LEAP is a permanent program providing one-on-one assistance for Tribal library applicants in all aspects of preparing, applying, and receiving E-Rate support throughout a funding year. The E-Rate program, part of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, provides discounts of up to 90 percent of the costs for broadband connections and internal connections (e.g., Wi-Fi access points, routers, cabling, etc.). 


Tribal libraries interested in T-LEAP can review the E-Rate FAQ Two Pager for Tribal Libraries, Informational Brochure, and sign up for T-LEAP year-round.



For more information, please review the FCC’s press release.

The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance 

EJ TCTACs are institutions and organizations throughout the country with a common goal: to support the communities already doing essential environmental and energy justice work. About | EJ TC TAC

Low-income communities and marginalized populations bear the brunt of climate change and environmental damage. Communities know what they need, but they often don’t have access to the opportunities or investments to make those solutions possible. 



The EJ TCTACs are here to change that. Whether through guidance and training for grant writing, project management, or budgeting, the EJ TCTACs are ready to support eligible entities making their communities safer, healthier, and greener.

The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program

Regions 2, 3, 8, and 10 are now open and accepting applications!

The Grantmakers will provide subgrants to community-based nonprofits and other eligible subrecipients for assessment, planning, and project development activities. Grantmakers will alleviate much of the burden that the federal grants process places on small, resource-constrained community-based organizations supporting underserved communities and marginalized populations. These 11 Grantmakers are a combination of community-based nonprofit organizations in potential partnerships with a federally recognized Tribal government or an institution of higher education. Grantmakers will design competitive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement a tracking and reporting system, provide resources and support to communities, all in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.



For additional information: The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program | US EPA

All Tribal Colleges and Universities (as defined under 25 U.S.C. 1603 (24), (25), and (26)) as well as many other Tribal entities are eligible for the program irrespective of the other eligibility criteria. 


The program is called Biomedical Research Environment & Sponsored Programs Administration Development (BRE-SPAD). The aim is to promote broad participation in biomedical research by supporting resource-limited institutions to conduct research, enhance their research environments, and increase sponsored programs administration capacity. Organizational eligibility for BRE-SPAD is restricted to resource-limited institutions as defined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity: PAR-24-268.  The BRE-SPAD program webpage has guides and videos that highlight aspects of the program, assistance on how to determine eligibility, information on application preparation and submission, and a suggested list of things to do before applying. Questions can be sent to NIGMSBRE-SPAD@nigms.nih.gov.

Applications due February 19, 2025.

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