SKC also houses the following programs that meet the needs of the campus and community:
Center for Prevention and Wellness
The Center offers students and community members health education opportunities and health care services. Current programs include: culturally and gender specific Native Women’s HOPE (Honoring Opportunities to Prevent & Empower) groups; HIV/STD testing; capacity building for HIV Awareness programs, and the Tribal BEAR Project, which is responsible for providing the most current HIV treatment trainings to the seven reservations of Montana and three in Idaho. Activities include Women 4 Wellness Health Fair (annually in May), numerous STD/HIV testing events, informational sessions/conferences, media development, National Native American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, National HIV Testing Day and World AIDS Day events. In collaboration with area tribal health and Lake County Health Department, students and clients can access health services on site or through referrals. All services are confidential.
Location: Vanderburg Building, Rm 110. Visit the Center at http://prevention.skc.edu
Salish Kootenai College Foundation
The Salish Kootenai College Foundation is an independent 501(c)3 charitable non-profit organization that was founded in 1988 to support Salish Kootenai College’s growth and sustainability. The Foundation Board of Trustees includes fourteen voting members who are committed to building a strong legacy for the College.
Working as a catalyst for change and opportunity, the Salish Kootenai College Foundation seeks to carry out the short and long-term goals identified in the Salish Kootenai College Mission Statement. The purpose of the Foundation is to administer the endowment and grant funds; award scholarships to deserving students; provide grants to SKC; and receive and maintain funds. Serving as the official development entity of the College, the Foundation is dedicated to building the future of SKC by securing financial support. To carry out this important task, the office is busy in a wide range of activities and promotional efforts. This includes projects related to faculty, staff, students, curriculum, construction, youth, the community, culture, language, alumni, and history. Each year, the office identifies key focus areas for development. Following this plan the office then addresses the needs of these programs whether it is assisting with construction or seeing financial support for student scholarships. With a vision to the future, the Foundation strives to help the College grow in a healthy, positive fashion. The Foundation oversees public relations with the local community, the state, region and country. The financial support provided by the Foundation enhances the academic excellence of the College and builds the legacy of this outstanding institution.
Indigenous Math and Science Institute
The Indigenous Math and Science Institute (IMSI) was established in 2001 to provide a cohesive management structure for the various Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) research and education programs. The goal of IMSI is to provide an all-inclusive effort to promote Native American achievement at all levels of STEM research and education. IMSI houses the following programs:
All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ANLSAMP)
The ANLSAMP program is funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF) and involves 38 partner institutions spread across 14 states, working in conjunction to increase the number of Native Americans achieving a STEM Bachelor’s degree. The goal of the ANLSAMP program is to double the number of Native Americans and other under-represented minorities who are enrolled in STEM disciplines at partner institutions, and assist them in completing a STEM BS degree. In order to achieve this goal and related supporting objectives, the ANLSAMP program supports students at partner institutions with stipends, travel, internship opportunities, and other partner-specific activities. ANLSAMP is 1 of 40 Alliances nationwide and the only one specifically focusing on Native Americans.
Big Sky Science Partnership
The Big Sky Science Partnership (BSSP) is a seven year project whose goal is to increase science achievement in American Indian students. Funded by the National Science Foundation Math/Science Partnership program, the BSSP partners science and education faculty from Salish Kootenai College, the University of Montana and Montana State University with Tribal consultants and 120 K-8 teachers from the Flathead, Northern Cheyenne, and Crow Reservations and the Missoula area schools, in a vibrant learning community aimed at improving science instruction, developing science teacher leaders, and changing the culture of science teaching at the K-20 level. The project continues to generate and disseminate a significant body of research on the efficacy of culturally congruent instruction and the eveopment of culturally congruent teachers.
Developing American Indian Science Educators Project
The Developing American Indian Science Educators Project (DAISE) is a National Science Foundation funded project that supports the development of the Bachelor of Science in Secondary Science Education degree (BSSE). This degree prepares graduates for application for licensure as Broadfield secondary science teachers, enabling them to teach middle school and high school science. SalishKootenai College is only one of two tribal colleges in the nation that offers this degree. The funding also provides scholarships and stipends to qualified American Indian students who are pursuing the BSSE with the intention of becoming secondary science teachers.
Flathead Geoscience Education Project
The Flathead Geoscience Education Project is a National Science Foundation funded project that partners Tribal elders, SKC science and education faculty, and professional geologists in the development of culturally responsive geoscience curriculum materials for use in Flathead Reservation middle and high schools. The educational products of the FGEP include both written and video materials that have been distributed to all schools on the Flathead Reservation as part of an effort to improve equity in the schools and strengthen science education for students, particularly American Indian students. A place based elementary geoscience curriculum specific to the Flathead Reservation that aligns with the FGEP materials was also developed in 2012 by a Noyce Teacher Fellow. The curriculum has been distributed to all reservation schools and teacher training on it use has been provided. All FGEP materials will be made available on the SKC web site.
Robert Noyce Teacher Fellowships
The Robert Noyce Teacher Fellowships is a sister project to and natural outgrowth of the BSSP. Also funded by the National Science Foundation, it provides 27 BSSP teachers with two year fellowships to develop and conduct significant science teacher leadership projects that are designed to strengthen science instruction in BSSP schools. Fellowship projects focus on a variety of areas including teacher professional development, curriculum development, and educational research, and are designed to make systemic, sustainable, and substantive change in the way science is taught in BSSP schools.
SKC STEM Scholarship (S3) Program
The S3 program is funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is designed to increase enrollment and retention within the SKC STEM degree programs. New S3 scholarship applications are accepted anytime; however, awards are made the first week of each quarter based upon specific criteria and availability. The degree programs that are eligible for S3 funding are Computer Engineering, Environmental Science, Forestry, Hydrology, Information Technology, and Life Sciences. Contact IMSI for more information.
SKC Extension
Salish Kootenai College integrates extension, education, and research to advance land grant initiatives for our Tribal community. A focus on ecological restoration processes has led to developing a native plant nursery production and teaching facility, sharing native plant growing techniques with the Tribal greenhouse staff, and implementation of native plantings for restoration purposes. The extension office is mapping noxious weeds, providing education, and coordinating community level planning and weed control efforts. Extension is facilitating the Tribal Colleges with a special Water quality project to increase involvement with the USDA water quality program. The office is expanding the scope of extension by implementing delivery of curriculum in diet, health, and fitness aimed at preventing and reversing diet related illness.
Silver Fox Golf Course
Silver Fox Golf Course
The Silver Fox Golf Facility is a 9-hole, 3000-yard executive course. This USGA rated course winds its way through native trees, shrubs, and rock-lined ponds. The course is family-friendly and welcomes golfers of all skill levels. For more information contact (406) 675-PUTT.
Upward Bound
Upward Bound is a federally funded TRIO program designed to provide low-income, first-generation high school students with the skills and motivation necessary for success in postsecondary education. The program serves 84 students on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Services include tutoring, mentoring, college entrance preparation, enrichment activities, and college visitations. A six-week residential summer component on campus offers students high school credit, college credit, and work-study experiences.