IAIA president reflects on 40-year career as retirement approaches

Yahoo

27-04-2025

When Robert Martin took over as the president of the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2007, he said he was one of a small number of Indigenous educators with an advanced degree, meaning the pool of applicants for the job was not deep.
Now, 18 years later, as he prepares for retirement, the situation is quite different, he said, and the IAIA Board of Trustees should have plenty of well-qualified applicants to take over leadership of what he calls the nation's preeminent tribal university.
'I attribute a lot of this [change] to tribal leaders who have emphasized the importance of higher education as part of the warrior tradition,' he said, explaining textbooks have become the weapon of choice for those committed to fighting for tribal sovereignty.
'It's about controlling our own destiny,' he said. 'That's part of the tribal tradition, serving your nation and making sure the needs of your people are being taken care of.'
Martin, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma who earned his bachelor's and master's degree from Appalachian State University and his doctorate from the University of Kansas, said he is confident he is leaving the institution in good hands.
'The next president will continue our development and take it to the next level,' he said. ' … The board is committed to bringing in a strong leader.'
Loren Kieve, who was part of the team that hired him in 2007, said he had seen Martin's vision for the school become a reality over his tenure.
'Its success and growth over these years is a visible testament to Bob's careful, collegial guidance,' he said in a news release announcing Martin's retirement.
Beverly Morris, who chairs the school's Board of Trustees, credited Martin with ushering in a number of improvements at the institution.
'Under his visionary leadership, the Institute of American Indian Arts has developed a world-class campus that significantly enhances the experience and quality of life for students, faculty and staff alike,' she said in the release.
Watching them blossom
Even though Martin has been planning his retirement for some time, that doesn't mean he won't miss his job. Although he has served in administrative positions at a variety of institutions, including Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, Tohono O'odham Community College in Arizona and the University of Arizona, he said he counts the time he spent at IAIA as the most memorable experience of his career.
'I enjoyed being here. I enjoyed seeing students blossom,' he said. 'To see their progress from their first year until they graduate is very rewarding.'
Martin acknowledged he didn't immediately warm to the idea of becoming president of IAIA, figuring he wasn't exactly suited for the role.
'When I was at the University of Arizona, we were very comfortable,' Martin said of his wife, Luci Tapahonso, and himself. 'But the Board of Trustees reached out to me. I told them, 'What you need is an administrator who is also an artist.' They told me, 'We have the artists. What we need is an administrator.' '
Eventually, after an hourlong, in-depth discussion with one of the school's trustees at a local park, Martin said he found himself talked into taking the job. It was Santa Fe that helped tip the scales, he said — he found the city much more manageable than living in much-larger Tucson, Ariz.
While the learning curve of taking over an institution known primarily for its arts programs was steep, Martin said he adapted.
'In any position, you have to learn about the mission and the programs,' he said. 'But, here, I discovered I also learned about the difference between contemporary Native art and traditional Native art. And, of course, the difference depends on who you talk to and what their definition is.'
When he joined IAIA as its president, Martin said his first order of business was to assemble the leadership team he believed he needed to be successful. It was a process that required patience, he said.
'That always takes some persistence,' Martin said, noting it took him four to five years before he felt like he had surrounded himself with the kind of folks he wanted.
A list of priorities
While he was doing that, Martin also faced the challenge of meeting the board's expectations. Before he even arrived on campus, the trustees had established several ambitious priorities — building out the campus, increasing the number of programs the school offers and increasing enrollment.
With the end of his tenure in sight — Martin will step down in July — those goals have been met, he said.
But it wasn't easy, he said. Presenting a winning argument about the need for new facilities — and the money that had to be raised to build them — took a lot of doing. Martin pointed out to doubters that building those facilities and adding new programs were the key to meeting the third goal, beefing up enrollment.
He remembered asking an IAIA alum for a donation for a new gymnasium and being met by a skeptical response.
'Why are you building a gym? This is an arts school,' the alum said.
Martin responded by citing the need for a variety of on-campus amenities. Not only did they help attract new students, he said, they furthered the institution's mission of providing a holistic, well-rounded education.
Eventually, five new buildings and family housing would be added to the IAIA campus on Avan Nu Po Road southwest of Santa Fe.
Establishing more degree programs was also a lengthy process, Martin said. But the school now offers a bachelor's program in performing arts and graduate programs in creative writing, studio arts and cultural administration. Martin is especially proud of the last, which primes graduates for careers at museums and cultural and art institutions.
Other programs are in the works. Soon, IAIA will launch programs in computer science and Native art history, he said.
To meet the cost of those additional programs, Martin said he and the IAIA Foundation's Board of Directors have turned much of their focus to raising money.
'There has to be a need for the programs' IAIA launches, Martin said. 'But we're unique, and we have a niche. What might work for mainstream institutions might not work for us.'
The launch of those new programs and the construction of the buildings that house them has helped the institution become a more popular destination for students as well. Martin said he would like to see enrollment continue to climb, but he noted it has nearly doubled during his tenure, from approximately 275 students in 2007 to 500 today.
A gathering storm?
As Martin prepares to leave office, there are some dark clouds on the horizon, namely in the form of potential federal cuts to Native programs under the Trump administration.
Those issues are very much on Martin's mind, but he said it does little good to fret.
'There is a level of uncertainty, and we have to be more vigilant,' he said. 'Hopefully, the rest will take care of itself. But so much chaos and uncertainty creates anxiety. I think so many people in the current administration, that's what they want to engender.'
Despite that atmosphere, Martin said he is encouraged by the fact strong bipartisan support for American Indian programs exists among members of both parties in Congress.
And he said the value of what institutions like IAIA offer is evident to anyone willing to take a look.
'We have a profound impact not only on Native art but on the economy in New Mexico,' he said, pointing out the number of IAIA graduates who are featured at events such as the Santa Fe Indian Market.
Nor does IAIA serve only Indigenous folks. Contrary to popular belief, the institution is open to anyone, he said — 20% of the school's enrollment is classified as non-Native.
'Of course, our programs are offered from an indigenous perspective,' he said. 'That's not going to change.'
Martin said the most rewarding part of his experience at IAIA is and always has been his interaction with alumni. He said he is always gratified when a former student approaches him in public and, unbidden, begins to describe how much his or her time at the school meant to them.
'They'll say, 'IAIA made such a difference in my life,' ' Martin said. 'Even if they were here in the '60s, '70s or '80s, this was usually a very positive experience they've had here.'
Many of the more recent alums are struck by the additions to the campus, he said, especially when they recall how small it was before.
'They'll say, 'When I came here, there was no bookstore, and we didn't have the nice facilities we have now,' ' Martin said.
But one thing, he said, hasn't changed over the years.
'We always have had a faculty and staff dedicated to the mission,' he said.