University of Arkansas to Host the Cherokee College Preparatory Institute

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Students from last year’s Cherokee College Preparatory Institute.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas is excited to host 100 students of Cherokee and Potawatomi heritage from across the nation, Sunday, July 7, through Friday, July 12, at this year’s Cherokee College Preparatory Institute. The institute is a residential college-preparatory program staffed by admissions officers and college counselors from public and private universities throughout the country. The five-day event is open and free to Cherokee and Potawatomi citizens who will be high school juniors or seniors in the 2013-14 school year.

Students will participate in workshops covering a range of scholarship and college-related topics. As part of the institute, students will take part in an ACT preparation workshop staffed by members of the U of A’s own College Access Initiative. An initiative by the university’s office of diversity affairs, the College Access Initiative extends college readiness outreach across the state and increases the number of diverse and underrepresented students pursuing a baccalaureate degree.

“Our College Access Team is very pleased to be able to work with the Cherokee Nation Foundation on this event. We hope to establish many long-term partnerships with them as well as other tribes,” said Charles Robinson, vice chancellor for diversity and community relations. “This is an important beginning for us. Native American outreach is critically important to the University of Arkansas as a university that is welcoming to all students.”

 Students will have the opportunity to learn in a small group setting and receive one-on-one attention and advice from staff members while working through tasks assigned during workshops. A key goal of the Cherokee College Preparatory Institute is to assist students in the application process for admission to college and scholarship opportunities. Throughout the week, participants will compile a list of five schools to which they wish to apply, complete an admission or scholarship essay, and assemble an academic resume.

“Emerald Hames, our coordinator of Native American outreach, proposed having the national event on our campus,” said Suzanne McCray, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions. “We were delighted when her proposal was accepted, and she has done a terrific job coordinating offices on our campus to welcome these students here. We will have students here from coast to coast, and we want them all to see the University of Arkansas as a possible future campus home.”

The University of Arkansas provides on-campus housing for the students in a residence hall for five nights, giving them the opportunity to experience life on a college campus. The students will have access to the Arkansas Union’s Student Technology Center and their residence hall’s recreation room. There will also be an excursion to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and an etiquette dinner.

The institute is funded through partnerships between the Cherokee Nation Foundation, Cherokee Nation Businesses’ Citizen Development Initiatives and the University of Arkansas. University of Arkansas contributors include the office of diversity, enrollment services, the Honors College, the office of diversity in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, the Native American Student Association, the Center for Arkansas and Regional Studies, the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Law.

Stacy Leeds, dean of the School of Law, is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and was honored with the American Bar Association’s Spirit of Excellence Award earlier this year for her contributions to enhance diversity in the legal profession.

“The law school is committed to diversity, and we are eager to support this effort to bring talented Native American students to the campus,” Leeds said.