PhD Project Professor Appointed New Deputy Assistant Secretary For Policy And Economic Development—Indian Affairs
The PhD Project, an award-winning program to create a more diverse corporate America, is proud to announce that PhD Project professor, Dr. Gavin Clarkson, a citizen of The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, was appointed as the new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development—Indian Affairs within the Office of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. This is a supervisory position for the Offices of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Indian Gaming and Self-Governance.
“The PhD Project is extremely proud of the work Dr. Clarkson has done and continues to do for the Native American community. This appointment is a milestone for both Dr. Clarkson and The PhD Project,” said Bernard J. Milano, President of The PhD Project and president of the KPMG Foundation, founder and lead funder of the program. “It is evidence that we are laying the groundwork for scholars like Clarkson to succeed by giving them a support network of like-minded scholars to collaborate with.””
DR. GAVIN CLARKSON
Recently, Dr. Clarkson collaborated with many other PhD Project professors as one of the editors for the book “American Indian Business: Principles and Practices.” The editors (Deanna M. Kennedy, Ph.D. is enrolled in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma; Amy Klemm Verbos, J.D., Ph.D. is enrolled in the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi; Daniel Stewart, Ph.D. is enrolled in the Spokane Tribe; Joseph Scott Gladstone, Ph.D. is enrolled in the Blackfeet and is a Nez Perce descendant) are Native American scholars that met through The Project and shared a vision for bringing Native American business issues into the mainstream conversation. Now, as professors, they are making it happen. While the editors have written numerous academic articles, this book fills a need for context relevant material that can be used by tribal colleges, college-level Native business programs, and business practitioners. Dr. Clarkson said, “All of the profits from the book will support The PhD Project, the program that inspired all of us to pursue doctorates and become business professors.”
The PhD Project, a 501(c) (3) organization that the KPMG Foundation founded in 1994, recruits minority professionals from business into doctoral programs in all business disciplines. Since its inception, The PhD Project has been responsible for the increase in the number of minority business professors from 294 to 1,358. Further, 270 minorities are currently enrolled in doctoral programs, and will take a place at the front of the classroom over the next few years. The Project attacks the root cause of minority under-representation in corporate jobs: historically, very few minority college students study business as an entree to a corporate career. Diversifying the faculty attracts more minorities to study business and better prepares all students to function in a diverse workforce.
Dr. Clarkson holds both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Rice University. He earned a doctorate in Technology and Operations Management from the Harvard Business School, and is a cum laude graduate of the Harvard Law School. He also holds Series 7, Series 24 and Series 66 Securities licenses from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He was previously awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the dynamics of tribal finance, and his research and congressional testimony on tribal access to capital markets helped lead to the inclusion of $2 billion of Tribal Economic Development Bonds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. He has also consulted and served as an advisor to tribal organizations and federal agencies on tribal finance and economic development issues.AMERICAN INDIAN BUSINESS: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES»
BOOK
“American Indian Business: Principles and Practices”
American Indian business is booming. The number of American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses increased by 15. 3 percent from 2007 to 2012—a time when the total number of U.S. businesses increased by just 2 percent. Despite this impressive growth, there is an absence of small businesses on reservations, and Native Americans own private businesses at the lowest rate per capita for any ethnic or racial group in the United States. Many Indigenous entrepreneurs face unique cultural and practical challenges in starting, locating, and operating a business, from a perceived lack of a culture of entrepreneurship and a suspicion of capitalism to the difficulty of borrowing start-up funds when real estate is held in trust and cannot be used as collateral.
This book provides an accessible introduction to American Indian businesses, business practices, and business education. Its chapters cover the history of American Indian business from early trading posts to to days casino boom; economic sustainability, self-determination and sovereignty; organization and management; marketing; leadership; human resource management; tribal finance; business strategy and positioning; American Indian business law; tribal gaming operations; the importance of economic development and the challenges of economic leakage; entrepreneurship; technology and data management; business ethics; service management; taxation; accounting; and health-care management.