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SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah President Taylor Randall announced Thursday that Native American students who are enrolled members of one of Utah's eight federally recognized tribes will be eligible for a tuition waiver.
"As president of this university, I have a mission to touch all 3.3 million Utahns and that includes our Native tribes and nations," Randall told a crowd of tribal leaders, students and community members. "I hope that in the future you will see the University of Utah is much more present and active in your community and trying to serve you better."
The remarks were made during the 16th annual Governor's Native American Summit, which was held on campus. Details on how the university will implement the scholarships are still being determined, according to a university press release. However, the first scholarships will be awarded in spring 2023.
"Campus administrators look forward to reducing this major financial barrier to higher education for Native American students in our state," the press release reads.
The university's enrollment data for the last five years shows that about 120 students self-identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native each year, according to the press release. That's less than 1% of the school's student body.
The state's eight federally recognized tribes are the Confederated Tribes of Goshute Indians, Navajo, Northern Ute Tribe, Northwestern Band of Shoshone, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute, Skull Valley Band of Goshute and White Mesa Band of the Ute Mountain Ute.
Dustin Jansen, director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs and a Utah Valley University professor, said many Native students are first-generation students who don't have financial support from family members to pay for tuition.
"I imagine the amount of Indian students at the University of Utah is going to jump exponentially," Jansen said. "And I think this is the first step for a lot of universities that are probably going to do the same."
Although the University of Utah is the first in the state to announce such a waiver, similar initiatives have been seen at other U.S. universities.
Jansen added that although there are Native American students who are not enrolled in tribes and thus wouldn't be eligible for the waiver, it's important to note that "Indian" is not just an ethnic minority but a legal status.
"Doing something like this and limiting it to members of enrolled tribes avoids the attack that this is discrimination against other ethnic minorities in the state," Jansen said. "This tuition waiver is being offered because they are a member of a federally recognized tribe. As a state institution, this is a government-to-government agreement."
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said the state is working with tribal governments to help improve access to higher and technical education and ensure Native students are graduating high school. She said such efforts include looking at funding for the Navajo Technical University and building a Utah State University building in Monument Valley.
"We saw a lot of Native American students in our universities that went home during the pandemic and then never came back to school," Henderson told KSL.com. "So, there is a gap there that we're worried about."
During the summit, Brad Parry, tribal council vice chairman for the Northwestern Band of Shoshone, thanked the university for the difference the waiver will make.
"That is huge," Parry said of the announcement. "I'm pleased to be able to go back to our tribal children and have something for them to look forward to."
Correction: In an earlier version, Brad Parry's name was incorrectly spelled Perry.
