BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Former longtime United Tribes Technical College President David Gipp has died after an extended illness.
The Bismarck-based school announced Gipp’s death on Friday. He was 74.
The Fort Yates native and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe was named president of the Bismarck school run by North Dakota tribes in 1977. He served until 2015, when he moved into a chancellor role.
United Tribes was an unaccredited work force training tribal college on the brink of closure when Gipp arrived. He transformed it to an accredited liberal arts institution that has served thousands of students from more than 75 federally recognized tribes across the nation.
The foundational groundwork that Gipp and his administration built at United Tribes continues to benefit the college to this day, current school President Leander McDonald told the Bismarck Tribune.
Gipp was recognized as a national leader in advancing higher education for American Indians. He served as executive director of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium in the 1970s and as president of the group in four separate stints between 1978 and 2003. He also served as chairman of the American Indian College Fund in the early 2000s. He remained actively involved with both organizations until his death.
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