Northern hires Campbell as Indian ed advisor

Montana State University-Northern has hired former Hays-Lodge Pole school superintendent and former state legislator Margarett Campbell, Ph.D., as Northern's new director of Indian education - tribal liaison and special adviser to the chancellor.

"I am very pleased that Dr. Margarett Campbell has agreed to join the MSU-Northern team," Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel said Thursday. "She has a strong connection with Northern, impeccable academic credentials, a rich heritage among the Native American communities and 32 years as a college administrator. Her qualifications will assist me in strengthening tribal relations and educational pathways and aid in other administrative activities."

Campbell, 63, an Assiniboine from Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, said she started work Nov. 9, a week after she was offered the job. She said her new post will involve working with the Little River Institute to help Northern faculty integrate Indian Education For All into university lessons, curriculum and programs, helping establish relationships with tribes and helping Northern recruit and retain more American Indian students.

Campbell said many faculty have not had time to incorporate Indian Education For All, the state program that aims to incorporate elements of culture of Montana Native American tribes, into their lessons.

"The life of a faculty member is such that there is little time to incorporate new things," she said.

Campbell added that Indian Education For All is important because it allows students to learn, in an off-reservation college setting, skills to address problems specific to Indian reservations.

Campbell said she decided to take the job because, after decades working at tribal colleges, moving onto a university seemed like the next step in her professional progression.

Campbell's resume says she served as a faculty member, academic dean and later college president of Fort Belknap College, now Aaniiih Nakoda College. She was later vice president of community services at Fort Peck Community College, superintendent of the Brockton School District on Fort Peck Indian Reservation and superintendent of the Hays-Lodge Pole School District.

Campbell served in the Montana House of Representatives from 2005 to 2009 and in the 2009 session became the first American Indian woman to serve as House Majority Leader.

Campbell has an associate degree in business administration, bachelor's degree in business education and a Master of Education in vocational education all from Northern. She also has a doctorate of educational leadership from University of Montana.