Former Haskell Indian Nations University student journalist Jared Nally has settled his lawsuit against leaders of the university which will result in polic
Faculty at Haskell Indian Nations University have formally expressed their displeasure with the school’s president, who is also facing criticism from a national campus free speech organization that says his administration violated the First Amendment rights of students and staff.
On April 1, the Haskell Faculty Senate delivered a unanimous vote of no confidence against university president Ronald Graham, The Indian Leader reported.
The resolution says Graham’s one-year tenure has been marked by a disregard for academic freedom and free speech, and that he undercut Faculty Senate influence on academic matters.
Graham issued a “non-negotiable” memo early this month directing staff and faculty to voice their criticisms of the school, their peers and his administration internally through the university’s chain of command. He said any detractors who criticize the school publicly will face consequences.
LAWRENCE Jared Nally’s post-high school experience was a meandering, years-long journey through various colleges as he tried to nail down what he wanted to do with his life.
So when he arrived at Haskell Indian Nations University in fall 2019, he was excited to have not only found a place to get deeply involved in campus activities but a student newspaper that would pay him to do it.
He never thought he would have to sue the university to protect that right.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court of Kansas in Leavenworth against the university and its president, Ronald Graham, and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education and its director, Tony Dearman, Nally and the newspaper’s publishing company, Indian Leader Association, allege that the university violated Nally’s and the paper’s First Amendment rights.