Trustees Fire Tribal College President

Black Issues in Higher Education, Sept 30, 1999

CASS LAKE, Minn.--Larry Aitken, the president of tiny Leech Lake Tribal College since it opened here nine years ago, was ousted earlier this month by tribal officials who serve as the college's trustees.

Leech Lake Tribal Council Chairman Eli Hunt says that trustees appointed John Morrow as interim president because tribal officials and Aitken have "major philosophical differences regarding the direction of the college."

Trustees are upset that the college has not received accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, which has made it difficult for the college's 155 students to receive financial aid or transfer their credits to other schools.

The college has been accredited as a vocational school, but Hunt says tribal officials want a higher certification. "We're not satisfied that sufficient efforts were made to achieve accreditation," he says.