PABLO – Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Indian Reservation has installed Luanna Ross as its new president.
The Missoulian reports that at an inauguration ceremony Wednesday, Ross told faculty, staff and students to prepare for change, saying educational institutions “need to be fluid and dynamic.” She vowed to make the campus environmentally friendly and to evaluate every department and program at the college, which offers bachelor’s and associate’s degrees in more than 20 professional fields and certificates in several trade and vocational areas.
Ross, a Ronan High School graduate, replaces Joe McDonald, who served as president from 1978 until he retired this year at the age of 77. She comes to SKC from the University of Washington, where she was a professor and co-director of Native Voices, a graduate film program. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UM, her master’s from Portland State and her doctorate in sociology from the University of Oregon.
Ross also has taught at the University of California-Berkeley and UC-Davis.