Jason Younker, assistant vice president and advisor to the president on sovereignty and government-to-government relations at the UO, has been awarded the Ely S. Parker Award by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
The society’s mission is to increase the representation of American Indians and Alaskan Natives in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. The award recognizes a member who has made exceptional contributions and achievements in these academic fields and best represents the goals of the society; it is the highest honor given to members.
Younker is the first Oregonian to be honored with the award.
“It’s a tremendous honor. I’m just thrilled to death that they have recognized my work with Native American peoples,” he said. “I’m continuing that work, and that’s why I’m at this school.”
Younker, a member of the Coquille Nation, earned his doctoral and master’s degrees at the UO. After working at the university and guiding the construction of the Many Nations Longhouse on campus, he accepted a position at Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York in 2004.
There, Younker built a program for Native American students that emphasized academic and social support, called The Native American Future Stewards Program. The program was modeled around the values of the science and engineering society and earned the 2013 Recruitment/Retention Chapter Award.
Younker fostered a 93 percent graduation rate among students enrolled in the program. It also encouraged Native American students to come to Rochester. When Younker started, only 32 students on campus identified at Native American. When he left, there were 132.
“We’re very proud of that,” Younker said. “When I was going to college, I almost never saw any Native students. I know that AISES helps so many students overcome that loneliness.”
Younker and his family returned home to the Willamette Valley this past summer after he accepted a position on the president’s staff as the UO’s first-ever formal liaison to Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes. Now trying to replicate the success he had in New York, he intends to build a Native American Future Stewards Program here at the UO.
“Working out of the president’s office of course makes it easier, but also harder at times,” he said of his efforts. “It will take some time to figure it out. We have to be patient.”
Younker will be traveling to Orlando, Fla., in mid-November for the society’s annual national conference, where he will visit with former students and accept his award. Speakers include Notah Begay III, a professional golfer, and John Herrington, the first and only Native American astronaut.
—By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications