PAWNEE, Okla. – Pawnee Nation College (PNC) is commemorating the beginning of the school year with a new college president, Michael Burgess.
“Today we celebrate a person of vision to lead our college,” George Howell, PNC Board of Trustees chairman, said. “I know Mike to be a committed and dedicated man with the characteristics, experience and vision necessary to build on the successes of the past, to be an agent for change, and facing the challenges and opportunities that lie before us to strengthen the Pawnee Nation College, for the future of our students and the communities for which they represent.”
Howell conducted the presidential investiture for Burgess on Aug. 28, at PNC in Pawnee, Okla. Howell presented Burgess with a plaque that listed his name and the names of former PNC presidents.
“I appreciate this honor with great humbleness and respect,” Burgess, Comanche, said.
Burgess began working for the college in 2012 as an American Indian Studies teacher, then served as interim president for nearly eight months before being named president.
“Mike was one of my professors. He’s very respectful, knowledgeable and at many times a humorous man. I have a lot of respect for him,” Jamie Rowe said. “Over the past few years I’ve seen the college grow … I’m anxious to see what we have in store for the future. I’m glad you’re our president now … ”
Burgess attended public school in Anadarko, Okla., and Lodge Grass, Mont., then graduated high school in Lawrence, Kan. He then graduated from Haskell Indian junior College with an Associate of Arts in printing, now called graphic arts. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU), where he also minored in economics and political science. His Master of Public Administration degree was earned from Grand Canyon University and focuses on government and non-profit management.
He began his career in Indian Country while in California where he worked with Indian Centers, Inc., and Orange County Indian Centers in administration and in workforce departments with graphic arts education. He also worked with the Long Beach Unified School Districts, Title IX Indian Education Programs, and taught American Indian Studies at California State University, in Long Beach.
Burgess later became the program coordinator for the Washington Internships for Native Students (WINS) program at American University in Washington, D.C. He served as the interim executive director and educational programs director for the Native American Journalist Association, for which he is a founding board member.
When he returned home to Oklahoma, he worked for the Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma as the director of education and training programs, then as tribal administrator for both the Delaware Nation of Oklahoma then the Comanche Nation.
He’s also served his tribe as the director of grants and development for the Comanche Nation College, as director of Human Resources for the Comanche Nation Housing Authority, and as a committee member for some of the Shoshone-Comanche reunions. He’s also been elected into positions, such as Comanche Nation chairman, election board member, and the Comanche Business Council as committeeman No. 2, where he served on the Kiowa Comanche Apache (KCA) Land Use Committee.
His work has also led him to the Kaw Nation and Seminole Nation of Oklahoma where he was the health and wellness center director and WIA/TERO director, respectively.
Burgess has also helped in the communities where he has lived. He was a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Indian Education Board, a member of the Presbyterian Outreach for Indians, a member of the Los Angeles City/County American Indian Commission, a member of the Golden State Gourd Dance club and a member of the Minorities in the Media publishing project.
Burgess is a descendant of Chiefs Moh-way and Horseback. His grandparents are the late Allen ‘Kut-sonee’ Burgess and Ada Kate Yellowfish-Burgess, and his mother is the late LaVonia Ada Burgess. He often serves as a Master of Ceremonies at powwows, he is a Straight Dancer, Gourd Dancer and a heredity member of the Comanche Little Ponies.
Randa Shemwell, PNC director of student affairs, said PNC has benefited from all the experiences Burgess has acquired, and she is excited to see him in this new position as president.
“On behalf of the staff of PNC, we feel like we are in good hands, and we are going forward in a great way,” Shemwell said.
Dr. Clarence Benes, from PNC, said he’s excited about the vision Burgess has for the college, and Mariah Shieldchief, also on staff at PNC, welcomed Burgess with the traditional greeting Nowa.
“I mean that with the fullness of that meaning ... and it’s not hello,” Shieldchief explained about the word Nowa. “In this case I’m saying what it means is, I see you … It’s you are valuable, you have worth, you have meaning ... and that’s what we’re here for right? We’re here to have meaning. One of the things that really shows your mark of education is that you want your students to surpass you, you want them to … go as far as they can go because their success is your success.”
The investiture ceremony showed that laughter and friendship are a part of the curriculum at Pawnee Nation College, with jokes and teasing all shared in good nature. The celebration also brought community and education leaders to PNC, such as Pawnee Mayor Brad Sewall; Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs at OSU Gary Sanderfur, Executive Vice President of Bacone College Dr. Robert Brown, and representatives from the Comanche Nation College and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College.
Burgess thanked everyone who attended and recognized his family members who were there. He also shared his thoughts on the new position, his vision for the college, and his goals.
“This is a job I was running away from,” Burgess laughingly admitted, as he recalled being approached about the position by Howell and other people. “They told me what they wanted to do. I said, well … these are my people too. We’re all Indians and we’re in this together; and this community is with us, we have support. So I’m willing to go forward with all of you.”
Burgess said his vision for the campus, is to build one. Currently, PNC is located in a former boarding school, and he’d like to see a science lab built with the technology to go along with it. He also emphasized the need to support culture and community.
“Our goal here, I feel as a president, is to capture that culture and adjust to changes that come about and that’s why we want to continue with language. We want to continue with expression of song or dance. Things that will tell our children behind us, this is what people did,” Burgess said. “I feel this duty that we have as a tribal college of protecting culture, adjusting to change, supporting community is the biggest thing we can have; our biggest responsibility that we have. We’re going to do that through our classes, we’re going to do that through our instructors, with their knowledge and their background, and that’s what I think I can do here, with all of you.”
Burgess acknowledged his staff and what they have to offer the students. He also said he reminds his students, they don’t just represent themselves; they also represent the college, and he urges them not to “look at a situation as a problem or obstacle you cannot overcome. We are here to give you the tools to overcome any obstacle.”
While he shared some of his life lessons, Burgess continually hit on the importance of learning and sharing culture accurately, as well as having respect for different cultures, and being active in the community. He said he is grateful for the opportunity to lead PNC and thanked the PNC Board of Trustees and the Pawnee Nation business council.
“It’s a good day. It’s a great day at Pawnee Nation College. We’ve seen this institution grow … to what it is today and that makes your heart feel glad because this thing called education is something no one can take away from you,” Marshall Gover, Pawnee Nation chairman, said. “Mike’s a great guy. He’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s dedicated to learning, dedicated to education ... That drive for education, that’s what’s going to make this college take that next step up.”
For more information about PNC, visit http://pawneenationcollege.org/.
