(NAME-MCE) Maintaining Balance or ‘Hozho’

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    From Diverse Online
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Maintaining Balance or ‘Hozho’
By  Mary Annette Pember
Mar 24, 2008, 23:32

 Dr. Cassandra  Manuelito-Kerkvliet - Title: President, Antioch University  
SeattleDI: What are your words to  live by? 
CMK: Balance. In Navajo, the word is “Hozho.” It  means balance in all 
aspects of my life, spiritual, intellectual, physical  and emotional. If I don’t 
have balance, I am shortchanging my institution  and myself. I also keep a sense 
of humor. It’s amazing what we can  accomplish if we get off our high horses. 
DI: As one of only a handful of American Indian females in  executive 
positions within the academy, how has your heritage helped  and/or hindered your 
career? 
CMK: Being Navajo has  tremendously helped my career. I come from a long line 
of native leaders.  My grandfather, Chief Manuelito, was one of the signers 
of the 1868 treaty  for the Navajos. He believed that education was the ladder 
to success. He  said, “Tell my grandchildren to climb this ladder.” This is 
the strength  of my heritage that carries me in my leadership today. The other 
important  piece from my culture includes the support of my family and 
community in  terms of prayer and ceremony.  
DI: What do you see as your top three goals for Antioch  University Seattle? 
CMK: I want to give some bench strength  to our diversity. At Antioch, we 
have students and faculty from all walks  of life, but as a woman of color I want 
to give diversity more emphasis. I  want to see us walk our talk. In that 
vein, my last four hires have been  people of color. No. 2 increase our 
enrollment. The campus has had a flat  pattern and has even seen a slight dip in 
enrollment. We’ve had to deal  with the Antioch College closure in Yellow Springs, 
Ohio, which has caused  some confusion here, in Seattle. Some people think it’s 
the Seattle campus  that is closing. We are reminding students that there are 
five other  Antioch campuses and assuring the public that we are alive and 
well.  Additionally, I’d like to increase enrollment among underserved  
populations and open the campus to those who might never have considered a  private 
school education, particularly Native students. No. 3 increase  scholarship 
dollars that will help bring in more students of color.  
DI: What was the appeal of this position? 
CMK: The  biggest appeals were the innovative Native programs that Antioch 
has in  place. The Center for Native Education, funded by the Gates Foundation,  
allows Antioch and its group to go out into Native communities, both on  the 
reservation and in urban areas, and assist communities in bringing in  early 
college programs to high schools. Participating communities have  seen a 75 to 
90 percent increase in high school graduation as a result.  The First Peoples 
Program is a teacher-training program that offers Native  teachers curricula 
at tribal colleges, allowing them to gain teacher  certification. I thought, “
This is dynamic, I want to be a part of this!”  I also like the Antioch history 
of inclusiveness and social justice and  change. In 1852, the university 
invited Blacks and women to apply and even  allowed women teachers. 
 
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