UTTC Receives Federal Grant to Launch Intertribal Research and Resource Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Kaley Schwab, Communications Specialist
Office: 701-221-1387
Cell: 701-946-8611
Email: kschwab@uttc.edu
UTTC Receives Federal Grant to Launch Intertribal Research and Resource Center
Bismarck, ND – United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) is the recipient of a $2.6 million dollar federal grant to establish an Intertribal Research and Resource Center (IRRC).
The grant will be used to address community needs and to improve the sustainability of natural resources and agricultural sustainability in Indian Country.
“United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) has a long history of serving as a resource for tribal nations throughout the Great Plains region. The Intertribal Research and Resource Center (IRRC) builds on a strong network of partnerships to enhance research activities to positively impact land management and the sustainability of natural resources,” UTTC President Leander R. McDonald says.
These federal funds will be made available through the National Science Foundation’s Tribal Colleges and Universities Program.
“UTTC has a great team and infrastructure to manage and implement the grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the benefit of the region,” McDonald says.
The grant is expected to continue through 2023 with an additional $900,000 in federal funds expected to be made available.
Jeremy Guinn, chair of the Environmental Science and Research Program at UTTC, says this funding is a way to reach beyond academic programs and serve the community directly.
“The research areas are food, energy, and water. It is a broad area but these are interconnected fields and we are looking to provide research, information, and resources to the tribes in those three areas,” Guinn says.
The Intertribal Research and Resource Center will be in addition to the work already happening on the college campus through the Land Grant program and the Environmental Science and Research Program that focuses on cultivating sustainable food on campus as well as research into sustaining natural resources.
