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Alumna Linda Sue Warner Named President of Haskell Indian Nations University

by Joe Savrock (April 2007)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa – Linda Sue Warner ’78 M.Ed. is a shining example of Penn State’s American Indian Leadership Program (AILP) and its mission.

On April 2 Warner, a member of the Comanche Nation, became the new president of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan.

Haskell Indian Nations University has an average student enrollment of about 1,000 each semester, representing more than 135 Native American tribes. The university integrates American Indian/Alaska Native culture into all its curricula. Haskell is a land-grant institution serving members of federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native nations, as authorized by Congress and in partial fulfillment of treaty and trust obligations.

Warner’s selection as Haskell University president was finalized by Thomas M. Dowd, director of the Bureau of Indian Education in Washington, D.C. He noted that Warner’s “multifaceted experiences and accomplishments throughout her career make her the right person to lead Haskell on its mission. Dr. Warner worked as a classroom teacher and school administrator, gaining insights into the challenges and opportunities within the Bureau school system. I am especially impressed with her national and international experience in higher education, as well as her work to help establish a tribal college for the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma.”

Warner’s appointment marks her homecoming to the city of Lawrence. She previously served at Haskell as a staff member. In addition, as a faculty member at the University of Kansas-Lawrence, she did graduate level research on Indian education leadership.

While at Penn State in the mid-1970s, Warner was an AILP graduate student. After earning her master’s degree, she went on to obtain a Ph.D. in general administration from The University of Oklahoma. She later returned to Penn State as a faculty member and served as AILP director for several years.

AILP is the oldest and most successful program of its kind—it is the only program in the nation that has continued without interruption since initial seed monies were provided by the federal government in 1970. It was among the first graduate fellowship programs anywhere to offer Native Americans formal opportunities to strengthen their administrative and leadership skills in order to return to their respective tribal communities as educational leaders and as role models. More than 215 American Indians and Alaska Natives have earned graduate degrees from Penn State under the aegis of this program.

Current AILP director John Tippeconnic, professor of educational leadership at Penn State, knows Warner very well. “Dr. Warner brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Haskell Indian Nations University,” he said. “She will provide valuable leadership in providing meaningful, relevant, and high-quality higher education experiences to American Indian and Alaska Native students who attend Haskell. She’s a true Penn Stater, and we are proud of her accomplishments and wish her much success as president.”

Four years ago, Tippeconnic and Warner helped establish Comanche Nation College, a tribal college in Lawton, Okla. “The College’s foundation is based on Comanche philosophy and values,” said Tippeconnic, himself a member of the Comanche Tribe. “Individual tribal cultures and languages are gradually being lost. Comanche Nation College is an effort to keep the culture alive.”

The school offers two-year degrees. “We’re expanding our academic programs to fill niches that serve the community’s needs,” noted Tippeconnic. “For instance, there’s a need in Lawton for nurses. In response, we’ve developed a nursing program.”

Warner is an accomplished educator. She was named winner of the 2001 Indian Educator of the Year Award by the National Indian Education Association for her lifelong dedication. Just last year, she was honored by Penn State’s College of Education as winner of the Alumni Society’s Leadership & Service Award.

Warner has devoted 30 years to American Indian education policy and leadership. She has spread her pedagogy to numerous locations throughout the United States, beginning her career in the public schools of Missouri. In 1974, she entered the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Alaska to serve as a teacher. She has been a faculty member at the University of Kansas, Penn State, and the University of Missouri. She also served as a program director at the National Science Foundation. Her most recent position was with the Tennessee Board of Regents, the fifth largest university system in the country, where she served as associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.

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The Penn State College of Education serves approximately 2,800 undergraduate and 1,200 graduate students each year. The College prepares administrators, counselors, psychologists and researchers, as well as K-12 teachers in 21 different specialty areas. All of the College of Education graduate programs, that are ranked by the U.S. News & World Report, appear at least in the top 15, with six programs in the top ten.The College's Higher Education Administration program is ranked 1st and the Workforce Education and Development program is ranked 2nd. The College is known nationally for its education research and outreach, housing such centers as the Center for the Study of Higher Education, the Center for Science and the Schools, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, and the Regional Education Laboratory--Mid-Atlantic.

For more information on Penn State’s College of Education, contact EdRelations@psu.edu, call 814-863-1192, or visit www.ed.psu.edu.