We are happy to announce that Marcy Averill will become Carleton College’s inaugural Indigenous Communities Liaison. The Indigenous Communities Liaison, part of the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE), will strengthen the College’s ability to enact its land acknowledgment commitments, partner with tribal governments and Native organizations, and promote the well-being of Native members of the campus community. Such efforts will include, among others, building better relations with Native nations and improving how Carleton engages Native people and Native-related issues on campus. The Indigenous Communities Liaison at Carleton College has been made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in partnership with the Social Science Research Council.
Marcy comes to us from the Office of Education Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, where she has worked with medical students, researchers, and administration on Native issues. While at Mayo, she led steps toward reconciliation between Mayo and Dakota nations, developed a Native American Pathways Program for undergraduate and high school students interested in health careers, and directed a large federal grant on American Indian/Alaska Native cancer research with nationally-renowned research faculty. Marcy is an electrical engineer by training and draws on a robust STEM network, including from her long-standing work with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and from her tenure at IBM where she led a project expanding high-speed internet services and access on reservations. Marcy is of Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa descent, and she was raised in St. John, North Dakota, on the Turtle Mountain reservation. We are truly thrilled to welcome Marcy to campus starting September 1. Please reach out to her when you have a chance.