Mars Hill University Renews Agreement with Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Representatives from Mars Hill University and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) will be meeting on the Mars Hill campus September 9 to renew an ongoing cooperative relationship between the two organizations.
Plans call for Dr. Dan Lunsford, president of MHU, and Michell Hicks, Principal Chief of EBCI, to sign ceremonial versions of the agreement in both English and Cherokee.
The agreement, which was originally signed in February of 2011, calls for EBCI to take an active role in continuing to provide advice and consultation for various historic events and presentations at the university. It also calls for a cooperative effort to provide comprehensive scholarship funds for all members of EBCI who qualify academically, and who choose to attend Mars Hill University.
Updates to the agreement this year allow for more flexibility in granting financial aid to students attending Mars Hill who are members of EBCI than did the original document. Further, MHU will offer a $20,000 grant annually for any approved EBCI student(s) recruited to any of MHU’s athletic teams.
According to Lunsford, the agreement honors Mars Hill’s commitment to diversity among the student body, as well as engagement in the region. That commitment has long included connections that celebrate all aspects of southern Appalachian heritage and all the people whose history coalesced to form the heritage of the region.
Lunsford said: “It is a great honor to continue our partnership with Chief Hicks and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Working together, we can ensure that students from the Eastern Band will be able to obtain a quality education from Mars Hill University.”
The September 9 event was the second of two ceremonial signings. The first took place August 8 in Cherokee.
Mars Hill University is a premier private, liberal arts institution offering over 30 baccalaureate degrees and one graduate degree in elementary education. Founded in 1856 by Baptist families of the region, the campus is located just 20 minutes north of Asheville in the mountains of western North Carolina. Visit www.mhc.edu.
