CA -- Native American College Shuts Down
/Originally published in the LA Times on February 20, 2005 [here]
D-Q University, which opened in 1971, lost its accreditation and $1million in federal funding. Some students have refused to leave.
By Jocelyn Y. Stewart
Times Staff Writer
DAVIS, Calif. — The state's only college run for and by Native Americans has been forced to close after it lost its accreditation and $1 million in federal funding less than a month into this spring's semester.
Officials at D-Q University shut down the community college, laid off more than two dozen faculty members and staff and sent 200 students home. And while a defiant group of students refused to leave, the beleaguered board of trustees split into two rival factions — with one firing the school's president.
"We're in mass chaos," said Cindy La Marr, chairwoman of one of the factions and executive director of Capitol Area Indian Resources Inc. in Sacramento. "I believe the founders of the school have lost their vision of what the school was for. They're dwelling on the past."
The school's accreditation was revoked by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges because D-Q officials failed to correct six problems.
According to the commission, D-Q's staff lacked sufficient experience, its board of trustees was too small and lacked training, and the school failed to use "established college processes" for selection of courses and programs.
The commission also expressed deep concerns about D-Q's financial condition, including its handling of student financial aid packages and an "impending financial collapse."
D-Q officials blame many of the problems on the decisions of previous administrations, not the current leadership, which, they said, has taken steps toward making improvements. They said the pulling of accreditation — which takes two years to reinstate — was unjustified and unfair to students who had just started the spring semester.
"They said, 'It doesn't matter what you've done, or anything else,' " said Dr. James May, D-Q's executive vice president. "You'll have to be unaccredited for two years. That's just a good way to try to kill the university."
Located in Northern California's Yolo County, D-Q is a collection of weathered buildings along a lonely stretch of country highway where sheep graze and tomatoes and alfalfa grow.
These days the campus is deserted, classrooms are dark and hallways are empty.
D-Q University was founded by a group of Native Americans and Chicano activists who in 1970 occupied a former Army communications center for months until the government agreed to allow the 643-acre site to be turned into a tribal college.
The "D" in the school's name stands for Deganawidah, the "Great Peacemaker" who helped found the Iroquois Confederacy. According to school literature, the "Q" represents Quetzalcoatl, "an Aztec prophet who symbolizes the principles of wisdom and self-discipline."
The nonprofit, private, land-grant institution opened in 1971 and first received accreditation in 1977. Some called the school "Terrorist Tech" because of its origins, but it soon became a source of pride to Native Americans — a departure from an earlier era when their education consisted of boarding schools whose mission was to Americanize children.
D-Q University's mission was to educate students from a Native American perspective, blending "the spiritual and cultural truths of the past, the realities of the present and preparation for the future."
Like other community colleges, D-Q offers associate degrees, but in addition to the standard general education classes, students can study subjects such as "ethno-botany," "introduction to casino operations and management," mural painting and Native American literature.
"D-Q has educated several thousand Native students, including Mexican Indians, students who otherwise probably would never have gone to college," said Jack D. Forbes, professor of Native American Studies at UC Davis. "It has filled a niche that other community colleges would not be filling."
According to a 1996 American Indian College Fund Report, 70% of D-Q students transferred to a four-year college after earning an associate degree.
Unlike most tribal colleges, D-Q is not affiliated with one particular tribe. Students represent a broad mix. They come from throughout California and states such as New Mexico, South Dakota and Arizona.
"We're like a little United Nations here," May said.
D-Q is one of 34 tribal colleges in the United States, many of them on remote reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and New Mexico.
Tribal colleges were created to provide for the educational needs of American Indians living in areas with no access to other schools.
But they also address the need to increase the numbers of college-educated Native Americans, and to overcome the barriers that keep many of them from academic achievement.
Many tribal colleges have faced hardships, often stemming from "insufficient and inconsistent funding at the federal and tribal levels," said Ferlin Clark, president of Diné College in Tsaile, Ariz., the nation's oldest tribal college.
"We operate on a shoestring and a dream," Clark said. "We do much with little, and we impact the lives of a lot of our Indian people."
Tribal college presidents were in Washington, D.C., last week, pushing for funding, Clark said. Some are also "organizing to see what we can do to help not only D-Q, but the other tribal colleges that are in or could face similar situations."
D-Q's current problems began, in part, with an effort to bolster enrollment, May said. The school started a night and weekend child development program for Spanish speakers that became so popular that Latino students outnumbered Native Americans. But the program caused the school to lose about $350,000 in funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the BIA, said D-Q lost funding because it failed to fulfill a statutory requirement that 51% of its students be Native American.
"That's in the law," Darling said.
The loss of funding was the start of a downward spiral, May said.
"It's as if we are penalized because we are serving a need for Spanish-language education," May said. "The easiest solution would have been to cut out that program, but that would have been a disservice" to students.
The school's budget for the 2004-05 academic year was nearly $3.6 million, May said.
In an October progress report to the commission, college officials said the school's "fiscal management had taken major steps for improvement." Officials were raising money, reducing expenses and developing tighter controls on spending.
In response to the commission's request that the school "demonstrate that it has sufficient staff, with appropriate preparation and experience," D-Q hired a new president, Victor Gabriel, and several new top administrators, all American Indians with extensive experience.
Gabriel is a jewelry maker who once attended the school and served on its board. The school had also addressed concerns about the board's small size and the training of its members by adding new members, according to the report.
But the school's actions did not satisfy the commission.
The accrediting team visited again in November and reported the same problems, adding that the school's financial condition had worsened. At the time of the visit, the college had "only two full-time faculty members, and one of those will leave at the end of the semester," the commission's report states.
"In fact, the team has grave concerns about the teaching and learning process in general and does not feel the college meets the eligibility requirements."
In January, just days after the start of the spring semester, the commission voted to terminate D-Q's accreditation. The loss of accreditation meant a loss of federal funding.
In an interview last week, May said the school planned to appeal the commission's decision. He and others have accused the accrediting team of bias, noting that it did not have any Native American members.
Barbara Beno, executive director of the accrediting commission, said the agency had no obligation to include a Native American. "I think the team was very objective and the standards are very objective," she said.
There were attempts to save the school by bringing in new board members, but disagreements prompted the board to split into two groups.
At a Feb. 5 meeting, one group voted to fire Gabriel and his assistant, Sheila McCampbell. It elected new trustees and voted to ask the state attorney general's office for an investigation. The group has 14 members.
Gabriel did not return calls seeking comment. La Marr said Gabriel indicated that he does not recognize that faction's authority and has maintained his position.
Meanwhile, the other board faction began holding meetings. May said it has four members, including one of the school's founders, David Risling, a highly respected figure in the Native American community and senior lecturer emeritus at UC Davis. Risling has headed or served on the board for years.
Both board factions have indicated that they will request that the accrediting agency review its revocation decision.
During the appeal process, D-Q will have an opportunity to present documents, oral testimony and other evidence on its behalf. The school technically remains accredited while it appeals.
If the appeal fails, the school must wait two years to reapply for accreditation, at which time it must meet all of the agency's standards.
The loss of accreditation has been a blow to students. Most are gone except for about two dozen who have defied orders to leave. They have offered to help raise funds for D-Q and plan for its future, said Lynn Brown, student body president.
"We're staying," said student Jaclyn Bissonette, standing outside the women's dormitory. "This is our school."
La Marr's board has no plans to force the students to leave the dorms. "We're in a reorganization period," said La Marr, who has also served as president of the National Indian Education Assn.
"We have to stop and make sense of what is going on, get some answers, see what legal measures can be taken. Also see if we can get these students into accredited schools at this late point."
D-Q University, which opened in 1971, lost its accreditation and $1million in federal funding. Some students have refused to leave.
By Jocelyn Y. Stewart
Times Staff Writer
DAVIS, Calif. — The state's only college run for and by Native Americans has been forced to close after it lost its accreditation and $1 million in federal funding less than a month into this spring's semester.
Officials at D-Q University shut down the community college, laid off more than two dozen faculty members and staff and sent 200 students home. And while a defiant group of students refused to leave, the beleaguered board of trustees split into two rival factions — with one firing the school's president.
"We're in mass chaos," said Cindy La Marr, chairwoman of one of the factions and executive director of Capitol Area Indian Resources Inc. in Sacramento. "I believe the founders of the school have lost their vision of what the school was for. They're dwelling on the past."
The school's accreditation was revoked by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges because D-Q officials failed to correct six problems.
According to the commission, D-Q's staff lacked sufficient experience, its board of trustees was too small and lacked training, and the school failed to use "established college processes" for selection of courses and programs.
The commission also expressed deep concerns about D-Q's financial condition, including its handling of student financial aid packages and an "impending financial collapse."
D-Q officials blame many of the problems on the decisions of previous administrations, not the current leadership, which, they said, has taken steps toward making improvements. They said the pulling of accreditation — which takes two years to reinstate — was unjustified and unfair to students who had just started the spring semester.
"They said, 'It doesn't matter what you've done, or anything else,' " said Dr. James May, D-Q's executive vice president. "You'll have to be unaccredited for two years. That's just a good way to try to kill the university."
Located in Northern California's Yolo County, D-Q is a collection of weathered buildings along a lonely stretch of country highway where sheep graze and tomatoes and alfalfa grow.
These days the campus is deserted, classrooms are dark and hallways are empty.
D-Q University was founded by a group of Native Americans and Chicano activists who in 1970 occupied a former Army communications center for months until the government agreed to allow the 643-acre site to be turned into a tribal college.
The "D" in the school's name stands for Deganawidah, the "Great Peacemaker" who helped found the Iroquois Confederacy. According to school literature, the "Q" represents Quetzalcoatl, "an Aztec prophet who symbolizes the principles of wisdom and self-discipline."
The nonprofit, private, land-grant institution opened in 1971 and first received accreditation in 1977. Some called the school "Terrorist Tech" because of its origins, but it soon became a source of pride to Native Americans — a departure from an earlier era when their education consisted of boarding schools whose mission was to Americanize children.
D-Q University's mission was to educate students from a Native American perspective, blending "the spiritual and cultural truths of the past, the realities of the present and preparation for the future."
Like other community colleges, D-Q offers associate degrees, but in addition to the standard general education classes, students can study subjects such as "ethno-botany," "introduction to casino operations and management," mural painting and Native American literature.
"D-Q has educated several thousand Native students, including Mexican Indians, students who otherwise probably would never have gone to college," said Jack D. Forbes, professor of Native American Studies at UC Davis. "It has filled a niche that other community colleges would not be filling."
According to a 1996 American Indian College Fund Report, 70% of D-Q students transferred to a four-year college after earning an associate degree.
Unlike most tribal colleges, D-Q is not affiliated with one particular tribe. Students represent a broad mix. They come from throughout California and states such as New Mexico, South Dakota and Arizona.
"We're like a little United Nations here," May said.
D-Q is one of 34 tribal colleges in the United States, many of them on remote reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and New Mexico.
Tribal colleges were created to provide for the educational needs of American Indians living in areas with no access to other schools.
But they also address the need to increase the numbers of college-educated Native Americans, and to overcome the barriers that keep many of them from academic achievement.
Many tribal colleges have faced hardships, often stemming from "insufficient and inconsistent funding at the federal and tribal levels," said Ferlin Clark, president of Diné College in Tsaile, Ariz., the nation's oldest tribal college.
"We operate on a shoestring and a dream," Clark said. "We do much with little, and we impact the lives of a lot of our Indian people."
Tribal college presidents were in Washington, D.C., last week, pushing for funding, Clark said. Some are also "organizing to see what we can do to help not only D-Q, but the other tribal colleges that are in or could face similar situations."
D-Q's current problems began, in part, with an effort to bolster enrollment, May said. The school started a night and weekend child development program for Spanish speakers that became so popular that Latino students outnumbered Native Americans. But the program caused the school to lose about $350,000 in funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the BIA, said D-Q lost funding because it failed to fulfill a statutory requirement that 51% of its students be Native American.
"That's in the law," Darling said.
The loss of funding was the start of a downward spiral, May said.
"It's as if we are penalized because we are serving a need for Spanish-language education," May said. "The easiest solution would have been to cut out that program, but that would have been a disservice" to students.
The school's budget for the 2004-05 academic year was nearly $3.6 million, May said.
In an October progress report to the commission, college officials said the school's "fiscal management had taken major steps for improvement." Officials were raising money, reducing expenses and developing tighter controls on spending.
In response to the commission's request that the school "demonstrate that it has sufficient staff, with appropriate preparation and experience," D-Q hired a new president, Victor Gabriel, and several new top administrators, all American Indians with extensive experience.
Gabriel is a jewelry maker who once attended the school and served on its board. The school had also addressed concerns about the board's small size and the training of its members by adding new members, according to the report.
But the school's actions did not satisfy the commission.
The accrediting team visited again in November and reported the same problems, adding that the school's financial condition had worsened. At the time of the visit, the college had "only two full-time faculty members, and one of those will leave at the end of the semester," the commission's report states.
"In fact, the team has grave concerns about the teaching and learning process in general and does not feel the college meets the eligibility requirements."
In January, just days after the start of the spring semester, the commission voted to terminate D-Q's accreditation. The loss of accreditation meant a loss of federal funding.
In an interview last week, May said the school planned to appeal the commission's decision. He and others have accused the accrediting team of bias, noting that it did not have any Native American members.
Barbara Beno, executive director of the accrediting commission, said the agency had no obligation to include a Native American. "I think the team was very objective and the standards are very objective," she said.
There were attempts to save the school by bringing in new board members, but disagreements prompted the board to split into two groups.
At a Feb. 5 meeting, one group voted to fire Gabriel and his assistant, Sheila McCampbell. It elected new trustees and voted to ask the state attorney general's office for an investigation. The group has 14 members.
Gabriel did not return calls seeking comment. La Marr said Gabriel indicated that he does not recognize that faction's authority and has maintained his position.
Meanwhile, the other board faction began holding meetings. May said it has four members, including one of the school's founders, David Risling, a highly respected figure in the Native American community and senior lecturer emeritus at UC Davis. Risling has headed or served on the board for years.
Both board factions have indicated that they will request that the accrediting agency review its revocation decision.
During the appeal process, D-Q will have an opportunity to present documents, oral testimony and other evidence on its behalf. The school technically remains accredited while it appeals.
If the appeal fails, the school must wait two years to reapply for accreditation, at which time it must meet all of the agency's standards.
The loss of accreditation has been a blow to students. Most are gone except for about two dozen who have defied orders to leave. They have offered to help raise funds for D-Q and plan for its future, said Lynn Brown, student body president.
"We're staying," said student Jaclyn Bissonette, standing outside the women's dormitory. "This is our school."
La Marr's board has no plans to force the students to leave the dorms. "We're in a reorganization period," said La Marr, who has also served as president of the National Indian Education Assn.
"We have to stop and make sense of what is going on, get some answers, see what legal measures can be taken. Also see if we can get these students into accredited schools at this late point."
