KU establishes new Office of Sovereign Partnerships & Indigenous Initiatives
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has established a new office to better serve Native and Indigenous students, faculty and staff and help KU engage with Native and Indigenous communities in the region.
The new unit — the Office of Sovereign Partnerships & Indigenous Initiatives — will work to cultivate a community of care for KU to develop healthy, vibrant and ethical relationships with tribal citizens on campus and across Indian Country, along with international Indigenous communities and nations. This will include close collaboration with campus partners such as the Haskell/KU Exchange Program, as well as Haskell Indian Nations University, Native nations and other professional entities serving tribal citizens that advance Indigenous initiatives.
The new office is led by Alex Red Corn (Osage/𐓷𐓘𐓻𐓘𐓻𐓟), who recently joined KU as associate vice chancellor for sovereign partnerships and Indigenous initiatives and also as director and associate professor of Indigenous Studies; and Lori Hasselman (Shawnee/Delaware), director for sovereign partnerships and Indigenous initiatives.
“This is an exciting time at the University of Kansas with the establishment of this new office,” Red Corn said. “With our proximity to Haskell Indian Nations University, the city of Lawrence has a vibrant intertribal community that is well known throughout Indian Country, so the university serves tribal citizens from all over the country. Because of this, we have a responsibility to be in good relations with Native nations so we can be good partners with respect to their sovereign rights to be involved in the education of their own citizens. There is so much potential, and I’m excited to get started doing the good work that KU is committed to doing.”
The Office of Sovereign Partnerships & Indigenous Initiatives is not entirely new. Rather, it is the evolution of what was originally the Office of Native American Initiatives within the university’s Office of Academic Success, where the Haskell/KU exchange program is housed. The newly named and structured office represents the university’s evolving commitment to this initiative and is designed to elevate the office’s efforts across the university and its various campuses.
“We are indebted to those in our community whose work in recent years laid the groundwork for this new office,” Hasselman said. “Most recently, that has included the efforts of Academic Success and its Office of Native American Initiatives. Prior to that, it was the students, faculty and staff – especially the Native Faculty Staff Council – along with our Haskell community, who served as thought partners and advocated for sovereign partnerships and Indigenous initiatives at KU. We are grateful to all these individuals and look forward to continued partnerships.”
Beyond Red Corn’s role in leading the new Office of Sovereign Partnerships & Indigenous Initiatives, university leaders expressed excitement to have him serve as director and associate professor of Indigenous studies.
“I appreciate the leadership that Alex brings to the Indigenous Studies Program, and I am delighted about the expanded opportunities that he will have as the leader of the Office of Sovereign Partnerships & Indigenous Initiatives,” said Ben Eggleston, associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “Alex has a strong vision for the role of higher education in serving Native nations, and he articulates it with a deep sense of purpose and understanding of the challenges to be faced. I am confident that his work here at KU will be meaningful and impactful.”