Cheryl Crazy Bull to Speak at the Association of Community College Trustees Leadership Congress

April 14, 2014

WASHINGTON – The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) today announced that Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, will be a featured keynote speaker at the 45th Annual Community College Leadership Congress, which will take place at the Hyatt Regency Chicago this October 22 – 25, 2014.

“Community colleges are a primary gateway to opportunity for the majority of their students,” said ACCT President and CEO J. Noah Brown. “This is unquestionably true of the role that tribal colleges play in the lives of American Indian students. We are honored to feature Cheryl Crazy Bull and the institutions and students she represents at the ACCT Leadership Congress.”

President Crazy Bull shared, “I look forward to offering insights about this nation’s indigenous people’s experiences and knowledge including the value of identity, the importance of our lands and our governance systems, and the necessity of supporting educational attainment. Deliberate actions are critical to the success of American Indian and Alaska Native students and ACCT offers a perfect forum for discussion of those actions as they must be generated through policy and partnerships at all organizational and governmental levels. “
The American Indian College Fund transforms American Indian higher education by funding and creating awareness of the 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities in the United States, and by offering students access to knowledge, skills, and cultural values which enhance their communities and the country as a whole. In 2012-13, the American Indian College Fund distributed more than $5 million in scholarships and program support, which directly translated into 6,158 scholarships for American Indian students, of which 1,549 were first-generation college students.
Cheryl Crazy Bull, D.Ed., has more than 30 years of expertise in higher education and has worked to increase post-secondary education access for American Indians and revitalize cultural heritage. Crazy Bull served as the president of Northwest Indian College (NWIC) for the last 10 years, previously serving as the chair of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium board and member-at-large of the AIHEC executive committee.

The ACCT Leadership Congress is the largest national gathering of community college trustees, presidents, and administrators. More than 2,000 people from around the country and abroad are expected to be in attendance. The theme of this year’s Congress is “Winds of Change: Staying the Course to the American Dream.” Topics to be covered throughout the Congress include: strategic industry alliances and partnerships with K-12; student success and completion; innovation and technology; fundraising; serving at-risk and underserved populations; and effective board governance.

About ACCT
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. For more information, go to www.acct.org. Follow ACCT on Twitter @CCTrustees.