BEMIDJI, Minn. – Bemidji State University President Dr. Jon E. Quistgaard has named Dr. Donald Day as the director of the University’s American Indian Resource Center.

Day will officially join the Bemidji State campus community in July.

“Donald has an excellent combination of administrative skills and experience as an educator and faculty member,” Bemidji State’s Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Dr. Lisa Erwin said. “He has a passion for the education of American Indian students.

“We had an excellent pool of candidates,” Erwin added. “Donald had the right combination of skills and dedication to take us to the next level with the American Indian Resource Center.”

Day, a member of the Martin Clan and an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, comes to Bemidji State University after a five-year tenure as president of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, Minn.

Day was twice the director for the American Indian Center at St. Cloud State University, from 1997-99 and from 2001-02, taking a two-year break in between to serve as an assistant professor in the College of Education at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. From 1983-97, he worked at his alma mater, Bemidji State University, as the director of Indian Student Services.

He began his educational career as the higher education counselor for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in 1977. He served the tribe in various roles until 1983, when he briefly held a position as a curriculum development specialist with the Minneapolis Public Schools before moving into his first position at Bemidji State.

Day was one of the founding members of the Minnesota Indian Education Association and was a member of the Leech Lake Tribal College Board of Trustees. He has been a student advocate, counselor, coordinator, director, teacher and administrator.

Day holds a bachelor of arts degree in social studies with a minor in Indian studies from Bemidji State University, a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Minnesota, Duluth and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of North Dakota.

Day grew up near Walker, Minn. He and his wife, Priscilla, have three children.