Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame Inducts UCO Political Science Faculty

July 1, 2024

The Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame announced the induction of three exemplary educators including UCO’s Cornel Pewewardy, Ed.D., whose impactful career has significantly shaped education in Oklahoma and beyond. The induction ceremony will take place on Nov. 1 at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club.

Pewewardy serves as an associate professor of political science at Central.

“On behalf of the UCO College of Liberal Arts, I want to congratulate Dr. Pewewardy on this celebration of his life’s work,” said Elizabeth Maier, Ph.D., dean of the College of Liberal Arts at UCO.

“This honor celebrates those rare individuals whose passion for teaching transcends the classroom and whose influence echoes through time. Dr. Pewewardy continues to ignite minds and shape futures here at Central. We are ecstatic to have him as a part of our community.

For more than half a century, Pewewardy’s distinguished research and scholarship have profoundly influenced public and higher education, particularly for Native American students, educators and administrators. He has challenged and expanded the understanding of Indigenous education, teacher training and tribal leadership preparation in Oklahoma and nationwide. Colleagues also praise his mentoring relationships with students and early career faculty.

Pewewardy is Comanche and Kiowa and former Vice Chair of the Comanche Nation. In addition to teaching at the University of Central Oklahoma, He serves as a professor-of-practice at Kansas State University, and as an adjunct faculty member at numerous colleges and universities in Oklahoma and across the country. He’s also an author and frequent presenter on Indigenous education issues.

Beginning as a recreation assistant for the-then Sequoyah Indian High School in Tahlequah in 1975, Pewewardy went on to serve in education roles throughout the United States through positions with the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M; the University of Oklahoma; University of Minnesota – Twin Cities; Saint Paul (Minnesota) Public Schools; the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha; Cameron University in Lawton; Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio; Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS; Comanche Nation College in Lawton; Portland State University in Oregon; and Kansas State University. He also founded Comanche Academy Charter School in Lawton.

Pewewardy has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northeastern State University (Tahlequah), a master’s degree from New Mexico State University, a post-graduate certificate from the University of New Mexico and a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University.

He has been named the Big XII Outstanding American Indian Faculty of the Year for five years, and he also received the Crystal Eagle Award for Outstanding Leadership at the University of Kansas. The National Indian Education Association (Lifetime Achievement Award), the University of Kansas Endowment Association, Portland State University, the Oregon Indian Education Association, the Oklahoma Council for Indian Education also have recognized him for teaching excellence.

Learn more about the UCO Department of Political Science at poli-sci.uco.edu.