Award and posthumous doctorate honor Bernice Joseph
June 8, 2017
Leona Long
907-474-5086
The late Bernice Joseph鈥檚 legacy as a higher-education visionary and an indigenous scholar has been honored by the creation of an award in her memory and the presentation of a posthumous doctorate.
At the time of her death in 2014, Joseph was vice chancellor for rural, community and Native education at the University of 蜜桃影像 Fairbanks.
In March, the Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders created the Bernice Joseph Award to recognize problem-solving and innovation among community colleges in the western United States.
Also in March, the University of South Australia granted Joseph a doctorate, the institution's first posthumous degree.
鈥淏ernice lived her vision,鈥 said Evon Peter, the current 蜜桃影像 vice chancellor for rural, community and Native education. 鈥淎s a university leader and as an indigenous scholar, her innovative ideas and influence continues to be felt at home in 蜜桃影像 and worldwide. Bernice helped set a precedent for delivering distance education in rural communities that is now being used in higher education institutions nationwide.鈥
The Bernice Joseph Award will be given annually to the organization or institution whose tool is selected from those submitted to the Academic Leaders Toolkit. The toolkit is a collection of online resources that help the two-year institutions' leaders. Peter Pinney, 蜜桃影像 associate vice chancellor for rural, community and Native education, presented the inaugural award to the University of Hawai'i Community Colleges for its Sector Mapping Tool at the alliance鈥檚 annual meeting in Long Beach, California, this March.
The University of South Australia awarded Joseph's doctorate during its March commencement ceremony in Adelaide. Joseph submitted her dissertation, 鈥淚ndigenous and Western Knowledges: Transforming Educational Practices in Native 蜜桃影像,鈥 before her death in 2014.
Joseph also was the first student to graduate from the university鈥檚 David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research. The college broke intellectual ground by becoming the first worldwide to include indigenous content in every undergraduate program.
Joseph鈥檚 sister, Kathleen Meckel, an assistant professor of 蜜桃影像 Native studies and rural development at 蜜桃影像, represented her family at both events.
鈥淏ernice encouraged and inspired people to pursue their education while working tirelessly to increase access and create pathways for their education to occur,鈥 Meckel said. 鈥淭he distance education model Bernice worked to develop for the College of Rural and Community Development is now being adapted for indigenous communities in Australia. It鈥檚 amazing to realize the impact she had and continues to have. It makes the pain of losing her a little easier to bear."