ANC Commencement Speaker

Aaniiih Nakoda College is honored to have Dr. Ferlin Clark give the commencement address to the 2016 graduates. Dr. Clark is Diné from the Navajo Nation and makes his home in Navajo, New Mexico. He recently served as Assistant Secretary for Indian Education with the State of New Mexico. He formerly served as Policy Aide to the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President upon serving as the 14th President of the first and oldest tribal college in the United States, Diné College (formerly Navajo Community College). He has served in various capacities in education, philanthropy, government, health care, and as a consultant. In these capacities of serving he has held these distinguished positions: Assistant Secretary for Indian Education, New Mexico Public Education Department; Executive Staff Assistant, Office of Navajo Nation; President of Diné College; Interim President of Diné College; Senior Program Coordinator, Native Nations Institute-The University of Arizona. He attended Navajo Community College and Fort Lewis College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English-Communications (1988). He earned a Masters of Education in Education Administration from Harvard University (1992) and then attended the University of Arizona where he earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in American Indian Studies (2009). His current work is focused on oral history and the importance of cultural history towards the establishment of Diné College as an exercise of tribal sovereignty.