Students to Academic Professoriate for American Indians

Step 1: What is the SAPAI Writing Retreat?

The 2008 SAPAI Writing Retreat will be held at Lubrecht Forest from June 9 - July 18, 2008. Lubrecht Forest is a UM venue that provides the opportunity for participants to fuly engage in writing without distraction and with the support of coaches/instructors and a peer group. The facility offers comfortable lodging and meals, wireless internet, conference and classroom facilities in a forested location thirty (30) miles northeast of Missoula away from distractions yet easily accessible by car from nearby airports. Limited childcare is available.

Step 2: What is the SAPAI Faculty Prep?

The second step is preparation for assuming a faculty position at a TCU. A six-week workshop/retreat for a small number of students will offer enhancement of skills and knowledge useful for STEM faculty at a TCU. It will focus on how a TCU faculty member can raise funding in support of research, teaching and infrastructure. The goal is to provide graduates with the ability to prepare grant proposals that will generate funding. Each SAPAI scholar will develop a four person transition team consisting of the scholar, the scholar’s major professor during their graduate degree, a representative from the TCU where the scholar will become a faculty member, and a representative from the Step-Up staff. This team will assist the scholar during Step 3 and beyond.

Step 3: What is the First Year at a Tribal College?

The SAPAI project will provide the first year of salary at a TCU for our project scholars. During this first year, the SAPAI Scholar will have a greatly reduced teaching assignment and will be expected to prepare major research and education grant proposals with the support of his/her transition team and the Step-Up Staff. This third step will move the scholar into a new professional position. The scholar will no longer be a student but will have become a professional educator, he/she will be a STEM faculty member at a TCU.