Iris PrettyPaint

Student to Academic Professoriate for American Indians (SAPAI)
University of Montana, Missoula, MT

Iris PrettyPaint, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Browning, Montana, received her B.S.W. in Social Work from the University of Kansas, M.S.W. in Social Work from the University of Minnesota, and her Ph.D. from the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. PrettyPaint’s professional experience focuses on retention of tribal students at colleges and universities. She has served as the Interim Academic Vice President at Fort Peck Community College and as Project Coordinator for the W.K. Kellogg Family Collaborative, which developed a family-centered retention model for Tribal Colleges and Universities. Additionally, Iris directed the Twin Cities Healthy Nations Project and served as the Cultural Program Coordinator at Fairview Riverside Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN. PrettyPaint’s honors include a Bush Leadership Fellow award (1999); four consecutive awards of National Institute for Native Leadership in Higher Education (NINLHE) Training Fellow; Emerging Scholar for the W.K. Kellogg Native American Higher Education Initiative (NAHEI); Bush Advanced Child Welfare Scholar (1994); and a Department of Education Faculty Development Fellow award (1996). At The University of Montana, Iris serves as Co-Director of Research Opportunities in Science for Native Americans (ROSNA), which includes her work on the SAPAI project. Students and staff involved in ROSNA extend their thanks to Iris PrettyPaint for her steadfast efforts to enrich and establish connections between UM women scientists and Native American women scientists and students.

Academic Disciplines:
Education

Research Interests:
Community & Regional Development
Interpersonal Relationships
Native American History
Science Education
Student to Scientist