University of Illinois adds Native American issues adviser

URBANA, Ill. (AP) — A new administrator at the University of Illinois flagship campus will advise school leadership on Native American issues. The News-Gazette reports that Jacki Thompson Rand was appointed as the school’s associate vice chancellor for Native affairs last week. Rand, a professor of history, is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw nation of Oklahoma. She previously taught at the University of Iowa. The University of Illinois’ chancellor, Robert Jones, has pushed the Urbana-Champaign campus to change its relationship with Native American imagery and nations.