KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Officials at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence say the school’s regents are “closely monitoring” the impacts of the potential termination of certain federal employees.
Haskell Board of Regents Interim President Dalton Henry provided a statement Tuesday to KSHB 41 News that regents are evaluating the next steps following “the recent directive from the Office of Personnel Management, which has resulted in the termination of certain probationary federal employees across several agencies.”
Henry said the school hasn’t received any notice that its employees are exempt from the federal employee terminations.
While Henry didn’t lay out specific impacts at the school, which was founded in 1884, he said regents are working to “mitigate any disruptions to Haskell’s operations.”
“We recognize that the Bureau of Indian Education, Senator Moran, and Representative Mann are working to reduce the impact of these changes, and we are grateful for their attention to this issue,” Henry wrote.
Those efforts appear to be more aligned with the governance structure of the school than in specific reaction to the employee cuts announced this month.
Legislative efforts are underway that could potentially transfer oversight of Haskell from the Bureau of Indian Education to a Board of Regents elected by the tribes. That effort is independent of this month's cuts.
Henry cited recent commitments made by Interior Secretary Doug Burgham that the secretary “would fulfill the Department’s statutory, treaty and trust obligations to American Indians and Alaska Natives.”
Henry described Haskell University as part of that obligation.
The school says it averages roughly 1,000 students per semester. The school has been in ongoing discussions at the federal level over its governance structure and “remains engaged in conversations about solutions that could help insulate the university from the effects of shifting federal policies.”
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