The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) announced that Dr. Alex Red Corn will serve as president of Haskell Indian Nations University. Alex Red Corn is a citizen of the Osage Nation (𐓷𐓘𐓻𐓘𐓻𐓟) and a member of the 𐓲𐓣𐓻𐓪𐓷𐓘𐓯𐓰𐓘𐓤𐓟 (Gentle Sky/Peacekeeper) clan. Red Corn is a recognized leader in Indigenous education and academia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in middle and secondary social studies education from the University of Kansas (KU). He later earned an M.S. in Education with an emphasis in social studies at the University of Kansas and a PhD in Educational Leadership at Kansas State University (K-State).
During his Master’s and doctoral work, he focused on tribal education departments. Through community building with his tribe, he supported degree partnership programs that graduated two cohorts of Osage leaders with master’s degrees in educational leadership. Red Corn also worked to revise the Kansas Association for Native American Education (KANAE). Working with the State Board of Regents and the State Department of Education to found the first Kansas Advisory Councils for Indigenous Education (KACIE), Red Corn supported Kansas tribes to have consistent conversations with the Kansas Department of Education and the Kansas Board of Regents.
Red Corn is at the start of his journey with Haskell, recently named president on Sept. 28, 2026.
The Indian Leader interviewed Red Corn shortly after Haskell named him as interim president in Jan. 2026. During that conversation, he reflected on his path to Haskell, background as an educator and approach to leadership. He explained how in his early career he anticipated supporting students as an educator. His doctorate in education leadership gave him a wider span for bigger goals.
“When I went to get my doctorate in Education Leadership, I wasn’t sure if I would ever run an institute. I went from a faculty teaching and research type position to a Director, then to overseeing a program,” Red Corn said. “The doors opened on the academic route, but then slowly I started transitioning through my leadership work into these practitioner roles, and I was really excited that I was given the opportunity. I love Haskell, and I always have.”
This transitioned into a conversation about how Red Corn stepped into his interim position. With 15 years of education system experience on his belt, he describes a disconnect he hopes to bridge as an Osage educator.
“Because of the Indian education system, when you’re trained by mainstream systems, it doesn’t necessarily mean you learned how to be an Indigenous educator. States dictate a lot of certification decisions. When I was doing my master’s, I felt like my work was detached from Indian Country. When I learned about the Indian education system during my doctorate, I had to learn outside mainstream systems, and the realization for me became: if I had to learn outside the system, who’s inside the system, and learn from them?”
During his time as interim president of Haskell Indian Nations University, Dr. Red Corn expressed how his background as an educator supports his role as a temporary leader. Later in the Fall of 2026, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) announced his official appointment as president. His earlier interview focused on his background, educational roles, and love for Haskell. His permanent appointment presents an opportunity to commit to stability, leadership and the improvement of Haskell.
“I think it’s an honor that people would want me in this position. To do something that matters in the world has really been driving me for a while, and so I’ve always known how school is such an important and special place historically, to be invited to come over through the intergovernmental personnel agreement and to get to know people,” said Red Corn. “Then … having worked with people in a closer way for the people to want me to stay here, I think is an honor because this is such an important position for all of Indian country, and it’s a lot of responsibility that I take seriously and professionally.”
Red Corn divulged how this new leadership will bring change, shifting from temporary to permanent.
“A chance to build a team is a really important signal of stability, and that’s important for everything. From recruiting people to come work here, recruiting students to come here,” Red Corn said. “It’s important for things like accreditation and just general optics, but I think it’s also an important symbol to the faculty, staff and students, overall, that I’m not another temporary president and I’m committed. It’s still going to take time to keep building trust, but I think that is a really important signal of commitment on my part.”
Red Corn expressed that he enjoyed his adolescence through college with support for various opportunities and interests students have on campus.
“I grew up loving music, playing in bands. I love coaching wrestling when I started. I’m a fan of art; I stayed connected to arts, music… and I think that’s really important.”
His longstanding support for students stems from his visionary mindset, which affects his approach to leadership.
“When you’re looking at educational systems …being in a creative family, honestly has influenced my approach to things,” said Red Corn. “I mean, as a president, you have to be an important role model and model certain things, but also just be a good human and try to embed that in the work we do.”
Red Corn described how he plans to strengthen Haskell’s position as a tribal university serving Indigenous students from across the country.
“Firstly, we have to focus internally on the improvement within our own system to rebuild some things that used to be the status quo at Haskell. Then we can look outward, and the things we have listed include improving our internal and external communications building systems that allow us to be more transparent, and putting more emphasis on external relations,” Red Corn said. “Building relationships with tribes directly and also building relationships with our own partner institutions, like the Border Regions, the Haskell Foundation and the National Fund for American Indian Excellence. Once we get our foundation set, we start to grow new programs and look for external dollars to modernize. Also, to offer our online offerings and student health and wellness is a priority to look for ways to improve our ability to offer student support services. We are trying to bring a little structure to that to help us monitor and get better at what we do to support student success and wellness.”
While the interim president, Red Corn quickly established a positive connection with the Haskell community. Students expressed their opinion of Red Corn as president of Haskell and whether they expected him to make changes around campus.
“I don’t expect big changes, but as a president I do expect small things like fixing the sidewalk on campus and better food that is more nutritious,” said Junior Anysa Andy (Muscogee Creek Nation). “I have not spoken to him a bunch, but I have met with him. I do think he is open to communication, and has a lot of experience to his name. I think he will be a good fit for our school.”
Haskell students Quardell Little Owl and Weengeetah Mohawk, members of the Haskell Band, also shared their thoughts on Red Corn’s appointment and his interactions with students.
“He’s already done a good job at connecting with students by giving rides around campus on the cart, the connection from higher-ups to students and more openness. He has already done that, and I think what could be even better is if we had more opportunities to connect with them,” Little Owl said. “So far, I feel like he’s done a good job at connecting. From what I’ve observed and seen firsthand, he has that underlying respect for humanity.”
“It’s been looking a lot nicer around here too. It’s a lot cleaner than what it was before. We’re a part of the Haskell band, and he’s helped work with our club a lot. He’s been nice about communication with us, which is something we didn’t have with the last president,” said Mohawk. “Everybody would get a common understanding of what’s going on versus just being like ‘do this, or do that,’ making us feel like we’re kind of just trapped in a big set of rules.”
“Red Corn seems like he’s doing good and been making changes, and I feel like they have been good changes for Haskell,” said Sunny Wahquahboshkuk
When hearing about the positive comments from students, Red Corn smiled while commenting,
“It makes me really happy to hear that students are enjoying the interactions with me and not scared of me or running away. The staff tells me sometimes when I wear a suit that I’m going to scare people away, but I love hearing that from students.”
With students representing over 100 federally recognized tribes, Haskell’s campus brings together a wide range of experiences, culture, and perspectives. As Red Corn begins his presidency, students like Little Owl and Mohawk are looking for more than changes to policies or campus operations.
Their comments point to a desire for communication, transparency, and a stronger connection between students and university leadership. Red Corn’s experience as both an educator and administrator will now shape how he approaches those expectations.
His time as interim president gave students an early look at his leadership style, particularly his willingness to interact with students and hear their concerns. As he moves into the permanent position, students will have the opportunity to see how those conversations translate into decisions affecting their everyday lives on campus.
For Haskell, the appointment marks the beginning of a new chapter in university leadership. While students may have different expectations for what they hope to see change, their comments share a common theme: they want a president who is present, willing to listen, and connected to the community he serves.
