Tribal advisors.

LAST MONTH, PRESIDENT BUSH announced the appointment of four people to serve on a Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities. The board, established by executive order in 2002, is charged with ensuring that tribal colleges and universities have full access to federal and private programs and funds that benefit other postsecondary institutions.

One of the most underserved student populations in the country is that of the Native American. Some 32 tribal colleges and universities exist to serve these people, and are often the only postsecondary institutions available in some of the country's poorest rural areas. They provide crucial services to communities that suffer high rates of poverty and unemployment.

Named to the board were: Verna Fowler, president of College of the Menominee Nation (Wisc.) who is a member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; Joseph Hiller, assistant dean for Native American Programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, who is a member of the Lakota Sioux Tribe; Richard Stephens, senior vice president for Human Resources and Administration at The Boeing Company, who is a member of the Pala Band of Mission Indians; and Edward Thomas, president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, of which he is also a member.--T.G.