The American Indian College Fund has selected Carla Sineway, president of Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College (SCTC), as its 2024-2025 Tribal College President Honoree of the Year. This award is granted to a distinguished individual who made a positive and lasting impact on the tribal college movement.

Sineway is a member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and has spent most of her life in her hometown of Mount Pleasant, Michigan. She has worked for the tribe for almost 40 years, starting out at a counselor trainee when the Indian Child Welfare Act first came into effect. Sineway’s own academic journey and the path that led her to be president of a tribal college or university (TCU) was not direct or expected. Her childhood, though largely a good one, included a stepfather who struggled with alcoholism, and Sineway dreamed of the day when she would turn 18 so she could get away. She made plans with two of her closest friends in high school to apply to college together. But no one they knew had gone to college, and they had no help in completing applications, understanding FAFSA, or registering for classes.

Sineway was accepted to Central Michigan State University (CMU) but found herself lacking strong support from her family and the university. Her mother, who loved and wanted to support her, insisted she try nursing, a socially accepted degree for women at the time.

Unprepared for living on a college campus and having learned she was not cut out for the medical field, Sineway considered pursuing a career in law enforcement. She married and had children, returning to school after working in her first social work position for her tribe.

At first, she was still uncertain about a career and accrued 265 credits before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in psychology from CMU. She then went on to earn a master’s in counseling.

Her transition into the education field came when she applied for the education director position with the tribe. Several men had failed in the role, and one man asked her what made her think she could do something when men could not. It was the challenge Sineway needed. She not only excelled in the role but went back to school once again, this time for a master’s in education from Capella University.

In her role as education director, Sineway grew the tribe’s preschool program into a school that went through middle school and offered an alternative school option, adult education, and a leadership program. The Department of Education grew as it served as a catch-all for community needs, including running the tribal newspaper, maintaining a library, and operating an afterschool gym program. SCTC was born from this expansion of services.

The tribe had previously partnered with Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) to offer classes in Mount Pleasant. However, BMCC could not support the services required for the arrangement, so another option had to be found. Sineway says the TCU started with a dream of what could be while tribal staff were visiting CMU. They visited several TCUs, and the tribe realized it was capable of opening one.

The tribe began offering classes and looking into accreditation. SCTC was chartered in 2000. The first president of the college asked Sineway to serve as the dean of students and curriculum in 2002. Several college presidents would come and go over the next few years and she filled in as the interim president. One day her husband and sons asked why she did not apply for the role. Sineway admits she had doubts about her capability, but her family noted she was already doing the job. Once officially in the position, she got to work rebuilding from a staff of three to 20 full-time and 30 part-time employees today.

Sineway recalls her time as dean of students and curriculum as the best job she has ever had because it allowed her to get to know the students and faculty well. She learned what faculty needed and about their ideas. She says she loves the interaction and creative thinking involved when starting a new role, as everyone is eager to share ideas and move forward together. She also enjoys her position as president because it still allows her to work with others and be a good leader who does not always lead from the front but identifies the capabilities of others and enables them to grow.

Graduation day is Sineway’s favorite day of the year, she says, because it fills her heart to see the students walk across the stage, especially considering the struggles they faced and the work they put in to make it. That is the importance of a TCU education she says; it opens a door and provides an opportunity that students might not have otherwise. She says without TCUs a good percentage of Native graduates would have never gone to school or had a choice in life.

“It should be a choice. . . . A lot of people want to make it but are afraid. TCUs are here to support them through the journey and let them know we’ve been there too,” Sineway says.

President Sineway offers students the support others were not able to provide for her when she was younger, and not just at school. She raised her sons and two of her nieces as well, making sure they knew college was an opportunity they should pursue. She asked them to consider where they wanted to attend and what they’d study. A higher education may not be for everyone, but she says she is dedicated to making a trail for others to follow if they wish. Above all, she says each individual needs to decide what they want to do because it will not work if they’re unhappy.

She says the SCTC staff are like her extended family, as it was often coworkers who encouraged and supported her academic journey and career. TCU staff are dedicated and have a passion for higher education, but more importantly they have a passion and love for community. In these uncertain political times, she is encouraged by what she knows of her staff.

Sineway says, “We made it through (COVID) and will make it through this. We always do. Being supportive to one another is really important.” And she is the leader everyone needs in this moment too, lifting up her staff, faculty, and students to help them grow and reach their goals no matter what.