John W. Tippeconnic, III

Professor of Education
Batschelet Chair
Director, American Indian Leadership Program

302A Rackley Building
University Park, PA 16802
Email: jwt7@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-1626
Fax: 814-865-1480

Introduction

John W. Tippeconnic III, Professor of Education and Director of the American Indian Leadership Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. He is a member of the Comanche Tribe and is also part Cherokee.Prior to coming to Penn State University, Tippeconnic was a professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Arizona State University. He is the former Director the Office of Indian Education Programs for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Washington, D.C. He also was the Director of the Office of Indian Education (OIE) located in the U.S. Department of Education. Both the BIA and OIE positions were national in scope and including overseeing programs in higher education. He served as the director of the Center for Indian Education at Arizona State University. He also was a middle school teacher in New Mexico and Arizona and a vice president of Navajo Community College (now Dinè College). 

Areas of Expertise

• Policy
• Diversity
• Leadership
• American Indian education
• School Leadership
• Evaluation

Publications & Presentations

• Co-editing the book, Next Steps: Research and Practice to Advance Indian Education.
• Latest publication “Towards Educational Self-Determination: The Challenge for Indian Control of Indian Schools” appeared in the Winter 2000 issue of Native Americas.
• Co-authored the essay, “Higher Education Our Way” in the same issue of Native Americas.
• The article “Systemic School Reform and American Indian Education with Emphasis on Indian Control of Education” was published by the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored High Plains Rural Systemic Initiative at Turtle Mountain Community College.
• Co-author of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 1998 publication, “American Indians and Alaska Natives in Postsecondary Education.
• Recent presentations include “Expanding the Circle: Tribal Colleges and Universities as Engaged Institutions” at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, and “American Indians and Alaska Native in Academe: The Good, Bad and the Ugly” at the University of Minnesota.

Professional Experience & Activities

• Currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of American Indian Education and on an advisory board for the ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.
• Member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Higher Education.
• Two terms as president of the National Indian Education Association; chair of the American Educational Research Association American Indian Education Special Interest Group and membership on the boards for the National Family Literacy Board and the Goodling Institute at Penn State.
• Has served as a consultant to numerous organizations, including the Native American Rights Fund, National Science Foundation, and the W.K Kellogg Foundation.
• Ex-member of a team that evaluated the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Native American Higher Education Initiative.
• Serves as the evaluator of the National Indian School Board Association’s “Creating Sacred Places for Children,” a comprehensive school reform model that is being implemented in 17 Bureau of Indian Affairs supported schools.
• Is involved in the evaluation of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program.

Education

• Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The Pennsylvania State University in 1975.
• M.Ed.in Educational Administration from The Pennsylvania State University in 1971.
• B.S. in Secondary Education from Oklahoma State University in 1966