August 7, 2018
Dr. Scott Andrews, a professor in the English Department and the American Indian Studies Program, has been named Interim Director for the American Indian Studies Program. He replaces associate professor Dr. Brian Burkhart, who has departed CSUN for the University of Oklahoma.
Andrews has been at CSUN since 2000, and he was AIS director from 2009 to 2014. He specializes in American Indian literature. He has published book reviews, essays, poetry, and fiction in various journals. He serves on the editorial board for two native studies journals: Studies in American Indian Literatures and Transmotion (an online journal of postmodern indigenous studies). He has helped co-ordinate the Annual CSUN Powwow for nearly a decade. The 35th Annual CSUN Powwow will take place in the Sierra Quad on Nov. 24, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Andrews is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. He serves on the board of the American Indian Scholarship Fund of Southern California, which provides support for native students attending colleges and universities in the region. At CSUN, he serves on the President's Commission on Diversity and Inclusion.
This year the program will conduct a search for an assistant or associate professor to be AIS Director.
"I will miss having Dr. Burkhart as a colleague in AIS and as co-coordinator of the powwow," Andrews said. "I wish him the best at the University of Oklahoma, which is my undergraduate alma mater. He is going to do great things in the Philosophy Department there, building a program in native philosophy."