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For Haskell's President, Student Struggles Have A Personal Significance

Luke X. Martin
/
KCUR 89.3
Haskell Indian Nations University President Venida Chenault.

As far as university presidents go, VenidaChenault is anything but ordinary. When she says she understands the circumstances some underserved college students are faced with, she really means it.

As one of five siblings raised in Topeka by a single mother, her family sometimes relied on government assistance to make ends meet. Chenault is now the seventh president of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, but she used to pay the bills by cleaning hotel rooms and working as a secretary.

“My mom wanted something better for me,” Chenault says, and in turn, “I wanted something better for particularly my oldest son when I started school.”

After starting her college education at Haskell, she finished several degrees at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. In 2014, Doctor Chenault became Haskell’s first alumna to rise to the school’s presidency. In April, she was inducted into the KU Women’s Hall of Fame.

She has set herself up against challenging work at Haskell. With 130 to 150 different tribes represented, Chenault says, the school is tasked with meeting the needs of a diverse student body with limited financial resources and crumbling infrastructure.

“Recognizing those unique [student] needs and trying to ensure that the services we provide help them address those gaps [is essential]” says Chenault. She cites the university's Student Success Center as evidence of forward progress, as well as “a small child care facility, counseling centers — so there are a range of services we provide to help students persist.”

Apart from increasing revenue for her school, increasing enrollment and updating crumbling campus infrastructure, Chenault has to maneuver through extra red tape.

“At Haskell, we operate using many of the rules that apply to federal agencies because we're funded by the Bureau of Indian Education,” she says. “It is oftentimes very difficult to negotiate rules that really are not designed for a university setting.”

Despite the odds, Chenault is hopeful.

“When we were established in 1884,” she says, “the intent of the institution at that point in time was to kill the Indian, civilize the man.” Now the school embraces and celebrates the strengths and particularities of its indigenous students.

“I know how difficult it is, but there's no reason that any of our students shouldn't be thinking down the road about being the next president ... at Haskell," she says. "Education ... really is a doorway to opportunity and it's just essential that we keep those doors open to all students.”

Luke X. Martin is a freelance contributor and assistant producer at KCUR 89.3. He can be reached at luke@kcur.org.

As culture editor, I oversee KCUR’s coverage of race, culture, the arts, food and sports. I work with reporters to make sure our stories reflect the fullest view of the place we call home, so listeners and readers feel primed to explore the places, projects and people who make up a vibrant Kansas City. Email me at <a href="mailto:luke@kcur.org" target="_blank" link-data="{&quot;cms.site.owner&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe57dc0000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20&quot;},&quot;cms.content.publishDate&quot;:1678386246938,&quot;cms.content.publishUser&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;00000170-820a-de8d-af78-a70f6b270000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc&quot;},&quot;cms.content.updateDate&quot;:1678386246938,&quot;cms.content.updateUser&quot;:{&quot;_ref&quot;:&quot;00000170-820a-de8d-af78-a70f6b270000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc&quot;},&quot;cms.directory.paths&quot;:[],&quot;anchorable.showAnchor&quot;:false,&quot;link&quot;:{&quot;attributes&quot;:[],&quot;cms.directory.paths&quot;:[],&quot;linkText&quot;:&quot;luke@kcur.org&quot;,&quot;target&quot;:&quot;NEW&quot;,&quot;attachSourceUrl&quot;:false,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;mailto:luke@kcur.org&quot;,&quot;_id&quot;:&quot;00000186-c79d-db71-a7b6-dfbd97080001&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a&quot;},&quot;_id&quot;:&quot;00000186-c79d-db71-a7b6-dfbd97080000&quot;,&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288&quot;}">luke@kcur.org</a>.