John W. Tippeconnic (Comanche, Cherokee) is an Emeritus Professor at Arizona State University. He was the director of the American Indian Studies program (2010-2016). Prior to his service with ASU's American Indian Studies he served as a professor of education and director of the American Indian Leadership Program at Pennsylvania State University (1996-2010).
Tippeconnic received his master’s and doctoral degrees from Penn State, then turned his focus to Washington, D.C., where he eventually held director positions at the Office of Indian Education, U.S. Department of Education; and the Office of Indian Education Programs, Bureau of Indian Affairs (1990-1995). Both jobs required work with Congress, tribes, states, local schools, professional organizations and with various departments of the executive branch of the federal government that had an impact on education nationally.
Tippeconnic’s interests include studies in educational policy, Indian control of education, educational leadership, Indigenous leadership, and higher education issues.
Tippeconnic was honored by the National Indian Education Association in 2012 with a Lifetime Achievement Award and received the Phoenix Indian Center’s 2016 Leon Grant Spirit of the Community Award.