3 finalists in running for Diné College prez
By Cindy Yurth
Tséyi' Bureau
CHINLE, July 14, 2011
The Presidential Selection Committee at Diné College this week interviewed its three finalists for the position of president to replace Ferlin Clark, who was ousted last fall amid allegations of favoritism, harassment and financial improprieties.
The Board of Regents is scheduled to announce its decision at the end of this month.
Two Navajos and an African-American are being considered for the position.
Born in Fort Defiance, Manley A. Begay Jr. got his associate's degree from Diné College (then Navajo Community College) in 1975. He is believed to be the first Navajo to obtain a doctorate from Harvard University.
He is both a social scientist and senior lecturer in the American Indian Studies Program at the University of Arizona, as well as co-director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and affiliate faculty member of the Institute for Environment and Society (formerly, Institute for Planet Earth) at UA.
Begay, Ma'ii Deeshgiizhnii (Coyote Pass - Jemez Clan) born for Táchii'nii (Red Running into Water Clan), is the founding faculty chair and director of the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management and Policy in the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy.
His board affiliations are numerous and include the National Museum of the American Indian, Restoring Harmony Inc., Affiliated Native Peoples and Organizations for the Center for Indigenous Peoples Studies at California State University-San Bernardino, and the President's Native American Advisory Council at University of Arizona.
He is policy advisor to the Navajo Hataali Association.
Sam Dosumu brings a strong corporate and technical background in addition to his 20 years in academia, having spent four years as an information systems executive in the private sector.
Dosumu served as vice president for instructional services at Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, N.C. since 2008. Prior to that, he was dean of Business and Technology at San Juan College in Farmington, where he supervised all credit business and technology programs, and for a short while, supervised the business and industry activities, and the Small Business Development Center.
He collaborated with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe to offer office administration classes at their sites to enable tribal members to earn credentials in the field.
Dosumu has a Ph.D. in educational leadership and innovation from the University of Colorado-Denver, an MBA in information systems from Regis University in Denver, and a bachelor's in mathematics and computer science from Xavier University in New Orleans. He has published numerous works on non-traditional adult learning and distance education.
The only finalist currently working at Diné College, Maggie George is the faculty/chair administrator for the Center for Diné Studies. She is also a former dean and academic vice president there.
Until recently, George was executive director for the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities in Washington, DC. She has also worked at New Mexico State University, Haskell Indian Nations University, and has been an adjunct faculty member at the American Indian Languages Development Institute at the University of Arizona.
George was a consultant-evaluator with the Higher Learning Commission from 2003-2009. In that capacity, she participated on accreditation teams to a number of tribal colleges.
George has a Ph.D. in higher education policy and leadership from the University of Kansas, a master's degree in guidance and counseling and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from New Mexico Highlands University.
Her doctoral thesis examined the effects of a bilingual, bicultural teacher preparation program at Diné College.
She is Táchii'nii (Red Running into Water Clan), born for Naakaii Dine'é (Mexican People Clan).
Marie R. Etsitty has been serving as interim president since Clark's ouster.
