Iḷisaġvik College

Iḷisaġvik College
Motto Honoring your past, preparing for your future
Type Public Community College
Established 1996
President Pearl Kiyawn Nageak Brower
Location Barrow, AK, USA
Campus Rural
Affiliations UArctic; AIHEC; Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) tribal government
Website www.ilisagvik.edu

Iḷisaġvik College (Inupiaq: [iʎisɑʁβik]) is a public community college in Barrow, Alaska. Operated by the North Slope Borough, it is the only tribally-controlled college in Alaska and is the northernmost accredited community college in the United States. The college is located within the boundaries of the North Slope, an 89,000-square mile region of Arctic tundra which is not connected by road or rail. It is ice-locked nine months of each year. The region is home to the Inupiat Eskimos.

History

Bowhead Whale skull in front of Iḷisaġvik College main building

In 2005, IC was established as the only Tribal College in the state of Alaska. The college had its origins in 1986, when the North Slope Borough created the North Slope Higher Education Center, changing its name in 1991 to Arctic Sivunmun Iḷisaġvik College. In 1995 the Borough passed an ordinance incorporating Iḷisaġvik College as a public and independent non-profit corporation, and the school moved to the facility previously used by the United States Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL). Iḷisaġvik College was the lead institution in the 1997 creation of the Consortium for Alaska Native Higher Education (CANHE).

The College serves the North Slope Borough and the Iñupiat people.

Academics

IC is a two-year community college, which offers associate degree, one-year certificate, and semester-long endorsement programs, as well as short-term training courses. Academic programs at IC model the local Inupiat traditions, values, and culture. They are also intended to provide career and employment opportunities.[1] On December 19, 2016, Iḷisaġvik announced that it will begin to offer a four-year program in business administration, starting in 2017.[2]

Partnerships

Accredited in 2003 by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, it offers Associate's degrees as well as one-year certificates. IC is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), which is a community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations and make a lasting difference in the lives of American Indians and Alaska Natives. IC was created in response to the higher education needs of American Indians. IC generally serves geographically isolated populations that have no other means accessing education beyond the high school level.[1]

Governance

Iḷisaġvik College is sanctioned by the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) tribal government.

Campus

The Tuzzy Consortium Library is named after Evelyn Tuzroyluk Higbee, a member of the original Board of Higher Education for the college.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 American Indian Higher Education Consortium Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Utqiaġvik's Iḷisaġvik college on track to offer 4-year degree program, Alaska Dispatch News (Arctic Sounder), Shady Grove Oliver, December 19, 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.

Coordinates: 71°19′30″N 156°40′50″W / 71.32500°N 156.68056°W / 71.32500; -156.68056

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