Oct. 23, 1997 Contact Ross West (541) 346-2060 Editor's Note: Jon Erlandson will be available for interview between 11 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23. He can be contacted at (541) 346-5098. EUGENE--University of Oregon anthropology professor Jon Erlandson was named "Regional Faculty Mentor of the Year" by the Compact for Faculty Diversity at the group's annual meeting held recently in New Orleans. "I am deeply honored," Erlandson says. "University teaching is all about mentoring and making a difference in students' lives. To be rewarded for this work feels wonderful." The Compact for Faculty Diversity is a joint, 5-year effort to prepare new minority faculty and to improve graduate education. Members of the compact include the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the New England Board of Higher Education and the Southern Regional Education Board. Under the auspices of the compact, WICHE has established the Doctoral Scholars Program (DSP) for minority doctoral students who intend to enter careers in college teaching. Participants in the DSP nominated their mentors for the honor of Regional Faculty Mentor of the Year. "The face of America is changing and the face of higher education has to change to keep up," says Erlandson. "This program is helping a remarkable group of intelligent young scholars along. These scholars will become role models for tomorrow's students." Of the 15 scholars who have passed through the DSP, all now have college or university teaching positions. Nearly 250 more scholars are currently in the program. Jason Younker, for whom Erlandson serves as a faculty adviser, nominated Erlandson for the award. "For nearly three years, Dr. Jon Erlandson has been my friend, teacher and trusted counselor, displaying the characteristics which embody true faculty mentorship," wrote Younker, a member of the Coquille Indian Tribe, in his nomination letter. "With his help, my tribe and many other Native Americans have been empowered to successfully protect and manage their cultural resources," he wrote. A delegation representing the Coquille Indian Tribe attended the compact meeting and presented Erlandson with a Pendleton blanket and a letter of gratitude. The letter read, in part: "The Coquille Indian Tribe is deeply indebted to you and your family for many things, but especially for your mentorship of our Coquille Tribe members in their efforts to attain a degree in higher education....Your mentorship of Jason Younker will inspire community, friendship and humanity for many generations. For this we are truly indebted." Soon after joining the UO faculty in 1990, Erlandson became interested in the Coquille Tribe. Since that time he, his wife and colleague, UO anthropologist Madonna Moss, and a number of their students have been at the center of a flurry of Coquille-related research: identifying, studying and excavating a variety of archaeological sites; providing classroom and field training in archaeology to Coquille tribal members; working with the tribe to develop a comprehensive cultural resources protection plan; and advising Coquille students such as Younker. -30- #G-7309/Local,OrDailies,OrSci,PDX,OMA