Dr. Tom Ball, Modoc/Klamath
Waq’lis’i, my name is Tom Ball, and I’m an Assistant Vice President in the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity at the University of Oregon. I’m an enrolled member of the Klamath Tribes, one of nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon. I’m married to Dr. Alison Ball, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, and have 6 children and 9 grandchildren. I am actively involved in both my home tribal community and my wife’s as well. We travel frequently to participate in ceremonies, pow wow’s, feasts, and gatherings of any kind in tribal communities throughout the Northwest.
I received a Bachelor in Education from Oregon State University in 1977 and earned my Ph.D. in Special Education and Rehabilitation in 1998 from the University of Oregon. I am a former Chairman of the Klamath Tribes, and also served two terms on the Klamath Tribal Council. A former Health Planner for the Klamath Tribes, I also worked for 10 years for the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board as Director of the Health Careers Opportunity Program, where I won an award for Administrator of the Year from the National Indian Health Board. Prior to this I was a teacher and counselor for Lincoln County School District. In 1993, starting as a research assistant I worked my way up to Research Associate at the Oregon Social Learning Center, where for thirteen years I pursued my research passion for studying the effects of Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grief on First Nations peoples. I was co-PI on a large research grant, the Indian Family Wellness Project, and PI on several smaller grants. I started the Native Research Team, which grew into a Native Research Center at OSLC. I have co-authored three articles on Tribal Participatory Research, wrote a chapter for a textbook being used at the UO College of Education, served as a Board Member of the Native Research Network, and served on a National Indian Research Task Force for NIH.
It is truly an honor to be able to be a part of the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity. My co-workers are people who have been doing this work for years, who are highly educated, highly motivated and well-respected, both on the UO Campus and in their communities. I appreciate working with this great group of people as we assist the University of Oregon to move its diversity efforts forward.
Council and Committee Responsibilites
Oregon Indian Coalition for Post-Secondary Education (OICPSE)
Chair, Native American Faculty and Staff Group
National Indian Education Association member
Oregon Indian Education Association member
Government to Government Education Cluster
College Of Education Community Diversity Advisory Board
Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity Affiliates
Disability Service Project
UO Presidents Native American Advisory Board
Sapsik’wala Indian Teacher Preparatory Program Advisory Board
UO Native American Alumni Association
UO Nominator, Udall Scholarship Foundation
Co-Director, Bridge of the Gods Academy (Summer Program for Native HS)
Business School Diversity Plan Committee
Diversity Plans Review Committee
The National Association for Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE)
Diversity Building Scholarships reader ‘08
Hiring committees 2007
Native American Admissions Advisor/Recruiter
Dean, College of Education
CoDac, trainer/researcher
NASU
Basketball Tourney fund raiser committee member/volunteer
Pow Wow committee
Head Man Dancer
Planning committee, It’s Good to Be Indigenous Week
Center for Indigenous Cultural Survival Director Search
Native Studies Minor work group
Sahaptin Language Class work group
Longhouse
Assigned Units: Strategic Diversity Action Plan
College of Education
Law School
Business School
Provosts Office
Research and Graduate School
Advancement