Diné College President Charles Roessel dies at 63

Posted by Krista Allen | Jan 6, 2025 | News |

WINDOW ROCK

Diné College President Charles “Monty” Roessel died this morning in Albuquerque. He was 63.

Roessel was an educator, a driving force for academic innovation, and a leader in higher education. Since becoming the 18th president of Diné College in 2017, he has led the institution’s transformation from a two-year college into a four-year institution.

Roessel was originally from Round Rock, Arizona. He graduated from Chinle High.

He was appointed the director of the Bureau of Indian Education on Dec. 11, 2013, after serving as acting director for 10 months. As director, he oversaw education programs for 183 BIE-funded schools serving over 40,000 Native American and Alaska Native students across 23 states.

Before this role, Roessel served as the BIE’s associate deputy director for Navajo Schools from 2011-13, overseeing 66 schools in the Navajo Nation.

He has been a prominent figure in Native American education for many years. He began as director of community services at Rough Rock Community School in Rough Rock, Arizona, in 1998. He later became superintendent from 2007 to 2011 where he led a major school replacement project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Before working for Rough Rock Community School, Roessel served as the director of the Navajo Nation Round Rock Chapter AmeriCorps program where he developed partnerships to improve education and housing for the Round Rock community.

Roessel held a bachelor’s in photo communication/industrial arts from the University of Northern Colorado-Greeley, a master’s in journalism from Prescott College, and a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from Arizona State University.

His career included roles as a journalist, writer, editor, author and photographer for various publications. He served as managing editor of the Navajo Times TODAY from 1985 to 1987, when former Chairman Peter MacDonald Sr. shut down the paper.

Following that, Roessel served as vice president and editor of the Navajo Nation Today newspaper from 1990 to 1992.

Read more in the Jan. 9, edition of the Navajo Times.