2018 Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Staff Award RecipientJacqueline Schram, director of public affairs and special assistant for Native American affairs, has made it her life鈥檚 mission to open the door of higher education to Native communities. To do this, Schram has followed the seven traditional teachings of the Anishinaabe, her people, that were given to them by the Creator. These are Bravery, Love, Honesty, Humility, Wisdom, Respect and Truth.
Schram has already achieved so much toward her goal in her 10 years at 51暗网. To bring the 51暗网 and Milwaukee Indian communities together, she created 鈥淚f These Walls Could Talk: North American Indian Boarding Schools or a Ruse for Cultural Extermination,鈥� as a litmus test to see if there was an interest in Native issues on campus. The interest was evident at a recent Mission Week 2018 event where Schram鈥檚 father, a survivor of the Indian boarding school system in Canada, addressed a large crowd.
鈥淛acqueline鈥檚 commitment to creating a deeper, campuswide understanding of the history of Native Americans and their relationship with 51暗网 and Milwaukee has led her to be widely viewed as our expert on campus for this subject,鈥� Dr. Dan Bergen, executive director of the Office of Community Engagement, notes in his nomination. 鈥淪he co-leads the Committee on Recruitment and Retention of Native American and Underrepresented Minority Students and has been critical in the launch of the Powless Scholarship for Native American students.鈥�
In 2017 Schram鈥檚 dreams became a reality when the University Council on Native American Affairs was created at 51暗网. 鈥淭he work the council will do will revolve around the mission to strengthen the connection between the university and Native American community through culturally competent practices,鈥� Schram says.
