Charles M. Roessel

Charles Monty Roessel (June 28, 1961 – January 6, 2025) was an American photographer and journalist. As an academic administrator, he served as Director of the Bureau of Indian Education from 2013 until 2016 and president of Diné College from 2017 until his death.

Background Roessel was born on June 28, 1961. He earned his bachelor's degree in photography and industrial arts at the University of Northern Colorado in 1984.

Roessel died in Albuquerque from cancer on January 6, 2025, at the age of 63.

Career Journalism and photography After graduating with his bachelor's degree, he worked as a photojournalist in Greeley. He left Greeley to become managing editor of the Navajo Times until 1987. For two years, starting in 1990, he was vice president, co-owner and editor of Navajo Nation Today.

In 2004, Roessel's photography appeared in the exhibition "Viewpoints: Native Americans and Photography" at the Arizona State Museum. As a photographer, his work has also appeared in Arizona Highways, New Mexico Magazine, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated and Native Peoples.

Education From September 1997 to December 2000, Roessel was director of the Navajo Nation Round Rock Chapter AmeriCorps. Roessel worked at Rough Rock Community School from 1998 until 2011, starting as director of community services. He also taught photography and coached baseball. He was named executive director in 2000 and seven years later, in 2007, he became superintendent. During his time at Rough Rock, he oversaw major capital projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

In 2010, he became chair of the Department of the Interior's No Child Left Behind Negotiated Rule Making Committee. He also served on the Sovereignty in Navajo Education Reauthorization Task Force with the Navajo Education Department of Diné Education. Roessel was demoted in 2016 after an investigation by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General revealed he had used his position as director to get a friend a job in the department and getting a relative a job with the Navajo Nation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Roessel invested stimulus funds from the CARES Act to purchase rental laptops and internet access for students at Diné, where approximately 86 percent of students do not have at home internet access. He also created an emergency aid program which distributed over 300 checks to qualifying students to support basic needs. Graduation was also held online. Before his death, he led the transformation of the former two-year college into a four-year institution. (1996). Navajo Photography. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 20(3), 83–91. doi:10.17953/aicr.20.3.225476644v811528 with Peter Iverson (2002). Diné: A History of the Navajos. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. (2018). Self-Determination as a School Improvement Strategy. Journal of American Indian Education, 57(1), 177. doi:10.5749/jamerindieduc.57.1.0177