Communication Associate: Public Relations | Lori Melton | lmelton@d.umn.edu | (218) 726-8830
May 9, 2013 Tadd Johnson | Director of Graduate Studies/Professor and Chair Department of American Indian Studies | 218 726-6878 | taddjohn@d.umn.edu
Lori Melton | Communication Associate | External Affairs | 218 726-8830 | lmelton@d.umn.edu
Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs to Speak at UMD's Graduate Program Ceremony
DULUTH, MN – Mr. Kevin K. Washburn, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs for the U.S.
Department of the Interior, will deliver the featured commencement address at UMD's graduate
program ceremony on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 7 p.m. in Romano Gymnasium at UMD.
More about Assistant Secretary Washburn:
Washburn is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. He was sworn into office
on October 9, 2012.
Washburn is the 12th Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs to be confirmed since the position was
established in the late 1970s. In addition to carrying out the Department's trust responsibilities
regarding the management of tribal and individual Indian trust lands and assets, the Assistant
Secretary is responsible for promoting the self-determination and economic self-sufficiency
of the nation's 566 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and their
approximately two million enrolled members.
UMD will confer the first Masters in Tribal Administration and Governance class at the ceremony.
In total, there are 271 graduate degrees this year. Two are Ph.Ds, 14 are doctorates in
education, and 255 are master's degrees. 206 graduate students will participate in Thursday's
commencement.