UND honors Sitting Bull College president Laurel Vermillion

Laurel Vermillion, a lifelong resident of the Standing Rock Reservation who is president of Sitting Bull College, has received the Distinguished Alumni Achievement award from the University of North Dakota (UND) College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).

Vermillion was one of seven alumni who were honored at the recent CEHD awards banquet for their outstanding professional accomplishments since graduating from the UND.

Vermillion received a Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education in 1980, a Master’s in Education Administration in 1992 and her Doctorate in Teaching and Learning in 2005, all from UND while working and raising a family.

She has worked in several leadership positions at Sitting Bull College since 1995; she was hired as president in 2005.

Under Vermillion’s leadership, there has been extraordinary progress on building a new $40 million campus; the fully accredited Bachelor of Science offerings increased from three to seven degree programs; and she established a closer working relationship between the college and area K-12 schools and community.

In addition to her extraordinary academic success, Vermillion is also a board member on numerous non-profit community service groups, including Bear Soldier Horizons, the Standing Rock Education Consortium, the Standing Rock Education Leaders, the North Dakota Association of Tribal Colleges (NDATC), the Recruiting American Indian Nurses (RAIN) program, the American Indian College Fund (A*CF), Travois New Markets, and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC).

Vermillion and others were invited to Grand Forks, where each honored guest was invited to share their story with the audience of UND faculty, alumni and friends.
“Everyone was blown away by Dr Vermillion’s story,” said Jena Pierce, CEHD’s director of alumni relations and Development.

Richard Landry, a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of Educational Foundations and Research, nominated Vermillion for the award, with faculty making the final selection of winners.

“Being honored was very humbling experience and it allowed me to reflect on my educational journey,” Vermillion said. “The awards program gave me the perfect opportunity to thank all those individuals who supported me through my academic journey because my friends, advisors and family played a critical part in all my success.”

Vermillion lives in McLaughlin, South Dakota, where she graduated high school in 1973. She and her husband Duane have three children, Crystal, Keaton and Tanzy and four grandchildren, Jada, 14, McKenna, 12, Xander, 7, and Xavion, 3.