By Michael C. Guilmette Jr.
Staff reporter
BAY MILLS — Joining 12 Native educational professions from around the nation, Bay Mills Community College President Michael “Mickey” Parish has been appointed to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education.
Parish was appointed to the council by President George W. Bush on April 30 at a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C., where he was sworn in with his fellow council members.
Parish said that the advisory council will help set and direct policy on Native education, giving them an opportunity to have an impact on how educational programs are implemented.
Meeting two or three times a year, the council advises the Secretary of Education and submits reports to Congress each year. However, the council's charter stipulates that the report submission date is June 30. Therefore, Parish said that since the group was appointed only two months before the deadline, the council will not be submitting a report this year.
Parish also said that the council itself had lapsed in membership, last being fully staffed during the Clinton administration. Council terms are for only two years, and prior to this year, no members had been appointed since President Bush took office.
Parish is excited about being on the council, and he looks forward to the possibility of giving more local control to how Native educational programs are administered. He expects to have involvement with the final report on the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities as well as the 2005 report on the No Child Left Behind Act.
Parish's nomination process took a little over a year after his name was submitted to the White House, since a background investigation is required for individuals being appointed to federal positions.
Also at the April 30 ceremony, President Bush signed an executive order creating an interagency working group that will work with the council to help improve American Indian and Alaska Native education.
