Description
I am recommending an urgent needs grant of $250,000 from the Collaboration and Incubation Fund to the American Indian College Fund (AICF). This grant would be used to help tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) support their faculty as they transition to on-line/remote instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many colleges and universities have been challenged to move instruction on-line since most higher education institutions closed their campuses last month. However, TCUs are especially challenged. Few had robust on-line programs prior to closure. Most have very limited resources to support their faculty through the transition. Meanwhile, many of the faculty themselves—who are almost all contingent—do not have the equipment needed to teach on-line. And they are often located in places without internet connections that can support such instruction.
AICF conducted a survey of TCU faculty who have participated in the College Fund’s faculty programs. The respondents confirmed that technology and technology training are their most urgent needs as they seek to continue teaching during the pandemic.
Tribal colleges and universities are among the most important higher education institutions serving indigenous students and communities. There are 35 TCUs across the country; at any given moment, they are delivering instruction to 15,000 students in some of the poorest and least well-served communities in the nation. Delivering this education in situ —on reservations—and in a culturally relevant way is crucial: many indigenous students cannot leave home for school because of family obligations; and many who do find themselves struggling in environments that are alien, unfriendly and far from home.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Native students enrolled at TCUs are at risk of being forced to discontinue their studies—either because they or their teachers cannot access the on-line tools that would permit them to continue learning and teaching. The Mellon Foundation is working with AICF to provide aid to TCU students: a large grant has been fast-tracked for approval by the Mellon board.
A Luce Foundation grant will complement Mellon‘s support of TCU students by providing much needed help to TCU faculty. Luce has in recent years focused its attention on TCU faculty. Therefore, we urged AICF to submit a proposal aimed particularly at teachers. AICF’s proposal would provide grants to TCUs to enable their faculty to secure the equipment and training they need to continue to teach their students remotely.
AICF will distribute the monies directly to TCUs. The College Fund believes that this is the most efficient way to get funds to faculty quickly. Each TCU will be classified in one of four categories corresponding to the size of its faculty—small, medium, medium large, and large— and receive a grant that can be used either to procure equipment or to provide instructional technology support to faculty.
(AICF intends also to seek permission to reallocate a portion of Luce’s recent grant supporting TCU faculty research; these monies will be used to make grants directly to TCU faculty in need. That proposal will be submitted separately.)
The Luce Foundation has worked with AICF for many years. The Clare Boothe Luce Program has provided several grants to support women students pursuing STEM studies. Meanwhile, the Initiative on Native American Intellectual Leadership has awarded two grants in support of tribal college faculty research and writing. AICF has deep ties to the nation’s tribal colleges and ample capacity to distribute funding quickly and responsibly.
For all of these reasons, I strongly recommend that the Luce Foundation award an urgent needs grant of $250,000 to the American Indian College Fund.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Sean T. Buffington, Vice President