Dr. Erich Longie has thirty-five years of experience in research and educational administration, including roles as tribal college president, school board president, academic dean and founding partner of a consulting company providing continuing educational and social service staff training.

Dr. Longie, the first member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Sioux Nation to receive a doctorate, earned his Ed.D. in Educational Administration, M.A. in Education and B.S. in Elementary Education all from the University of North Dakota.

As president of Cankdeska Cikana Community College, he oversaw several million dollars in federal and private grant-funded programs as well as led two successful accreditation site visits. As college president, Dr. Longie wrote the articulation agreement between Cankdeska Cikana and the North Dakota University System.

Since leaving academia, Dr. Longie has been Principal Investigator for five Small Business Innovation Research awards. He has also served as evaluator for an EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) project and a vocational rehabilitation project with a focus on improving the transition of youth with disabilities to post-secondary and vocational education.

His research interest is primarily in Indian education, ranging from quantitative analysis of student absenteeism to qualitative research on successful tribal college administrators to comparative effectiveness of on-site and on-line continuing education for educators.