Iḷisaġvik College () is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

land-grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Utqiaġvik Utqiagvik ( ; , ), formerly known as Barrow ( ), is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough, Alaska, North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the List of northernmost ...

(formerly Barrow),

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. Operated by the

North Slope Borough The North Slope Borough is the northernmost borough in the US state of Alaska and, thus, the northernmost county or equivalent of the United States as a whole. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,031. The borough seat and largest cit ...

, a home rule government of the

Iñupiat The Inupiat (singular: Iñupiaq), also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States borde ...

, it is the only tribal college or university in Alaska, and it is the northernmost accredited community college in the United States. The college is located within the boundaries of the North Slope. It is an region of Arctic

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

. It is connected to the

Dalton Highway The James W. Dalton Highway, usually referred to as the Dalton Highway (and signed as Alaska Route 11), is a road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse (an unincorporated community within t ...

only during the winter, by an ice road for local residents. The community can also be reached by plane. The college is a member of the

American Indian Higher Education Consortium These organizations for post-secondary education have a common purpose and mission for advocacy in numerous areas of both institutional management and the general public interest. The organizations have specific purpose for issues from faculty uni ...

, and it offers a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

s, one-year certificates, and

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

courses for

GED Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

preparation. In 2020, the school's Alaska Dental Therapy Educational Program became the first program in the United States to be fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.

History

Iḷisaġvik College (IC) was renamed in 2005. It had been developed in alliance with the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

, beginning in 1986. Like other tribal colleges, it is a result of the Native American and Alaskan Native

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

movement that expanded in late 1960s and early 1970s. The North Slope Borough was organized as a home rule government in 1972, and with that, the Iñupiat people took other steps toward regaining control of their culture. The college was created to satisfy higher education needs of Alaskan Natives and American Indians. IC generally serves geographically isolated populations that have no other means accessing higher education. Beginning in 1986, the

had worked with the

to create the North Slope Higher Education Center. In 1995 the Borough passed an ordinance incorporating Iḷisaġvik College as a public and independent

non-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation ma ...

. The school moved to the facility previously used by the United States Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL). In 1996, IC took over the Iñupiat Heritage Center. In 1997 the school changed its name to Arctic Sivunmun Iḷisaġvik College. It was led from 1995 to 2005 by college president, Edna Ahgeak MacLean (

) an educator from Utqiaġvik (Barrow). Iḷisaġvik College was a leader in 1997 in founding the Consortium for Alaska Native Higher Education (CANHE). In 2005, the North Slope Borough established IC, the first, and still the only, Tribal College in the state of Alaska. It was federally recognized in 2007 as the 36th

tribal college Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are a category of higher education, minority-serving institutions in the United States defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Univ ...

in the United States and designated as a

land-grant college A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, or a beneficiary ...

the following year.

Presidents

IC has been led primarily by indigenous educators, who have mostly been local Iñupiat people.

Brooke Gondara Brookney Beaverheart Claire Boston Gondara (Northern Cheyenne) is an American academic administrator, activist, and advocate for women and minorities in higher education. She is associate dean of professional studies and education at Santa Fe Co ...

Northern Cheyenne The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation () is the federally recognized Northern Cheyenne tribe and a Plains tribe. The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is reservation located in southeastern Montana, that is ...

, and Justina Wilhelm.

Academics

Accredited in 2003 by the

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. ...

, the college offers a

s, one-year certificates, and

courses for

preparation. Academic programs at IC reflect local Iñupiat traditions, values, and culture. They are also intended to provide training for career and employment opportunities.American Indian Higher Education Consortium
In 2018, then-President Brower discussed the hope of expanding a current program into the school's second bachelor's degree program in elementary education with an indigenous focus. In 2020, the college's Alaska Dental Therapy Educational Program became the first program in the United States to be fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The program opened in 2004 and, by 2017, had increased oral healthcare services via Tribal Health Services by 40,000 people, mainly in rural populations across the state.

Partnerships

IC is a member of the

(AIHEC), a community of tribally and federally chartered institutions that work to strengthen and lead tribal communities in higher education. The university is an active member of the

University of the Arctic The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arcti ...

. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.

Governance

Iḷisaġvik College is sanctioned by the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) tribal government. Iḷisaġvik College weaves Iñupiaq values into all its activities because it believes these values make its students and educational community stronger, more cohesive and more successful. Being true to the core values of the culture it predominantly serves helps to make Iḷisaġvik a valued and contributing member of that culture. By helping to strengthen the language and traditions of the Iñupiat, Iḷisaġvik fulfills its role as a distinctly indigenous institution that aims to enhance the local culture, while helping its students gain a foothold in the economy of the 21st century. Iḷisaġvik's goal is to create successful graduates who can incorporate their traditional values into modern life and, in doing so, enhances both.

Campus

The Tuzzy Consortium Library is named after Evelyn Tuzroyluk Higbee, a member of the original Board of Higher Education for the college. The campus is located in the former complex of the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilisagvik College 1986 establishments in Alaska American Indian Higher Education Consortium Community colleges in Alaska Education in North Slope Borough, Alaska Universities and colleges established in 1986 Inupiat culture Non-profit organizations based in Alaska Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Utqiagvik, Alaska Two-year colleges in the United States