For decades, Bemidji State University alumnus Robert T. Anderson has served the people of the United States with roles in multiple presidential administrations and as one of the nation’s leading authorities on issues related to American Indian law. In recognition of his lifetime of service, Anderson will receive Bemidji State University’s Distinguished Minnesotan award and will speak at the university’s 106th commencement ceremony on May 9.

First presented by Bemidji State University in 1981, the Distinguished Minnesotan Award acknowledges the contributions of current or former residents of the state who have performed exemplary service to the people of Minnesota or the United States. Anderson will be the 42nd individual to receive the award.

Friday, May 9 • 11 a.m. & 1 p.m. Sanford Center Commencement Website

Anderson was nominated by President Biden to serve as Solicitor of the Department of the Interior in 2021, a position he held until January 2025. In that Senate-confirmed role, Anderson served as the department’s chief legal officer and oversaw a team of more than 400 lawyers — about half of whom were based in Washington, D.C., with the others serving in 14 regional and field offices across the country.

The Department of the Interior manages federal lands through the National Parks Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The department also manages oil, gas and renewable energy leasing on federal lands and the outer continental shelf; administers the Endangered Species Act; and carries out federal treaty and trust responsibilities to the nation’s 529 recognized Indian tribes.

Anderson is a professor emeritus at the University of Washington School of Law, where he taught courses in American Indian law, public lands, water and property. He served for more than a decade as the Oneida Indian Nation Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and he will return to Harvard in January 2026. During the Clinton administration, he served as associate solicitor and counselor to Bruce Babbitt, secretary of the interior. Anderson also handled significant Indian water rights litigation and Alaska Native rights issues working for the Native American Rights Fund.

A member of the Bois Forte Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Anderson grew up in Ely. He graduated from Bemidji State University in 1980 and from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1983.

Anderson is also a 2019 recipient of Bemidji State University’s Outstanding Alumni award. Typically awarded to multiple graduates each year, Anderson was BSU’s first solo recipient since 1994.

Anderson will address graduates as BSU’s commencement speaker in a pair of May 9 ceremonies at Bemidji’s Sanford Center. Commencement is open to the public and both ceremonies will be streamed online.

2025 Commencement Quick Facts

Bemidji State University hosts its 2025 commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 9, at Bemidji’s Sanford Center.

• 10 a.m. — College of Creativity, Enterprise & Place
• 1 p.m. — College of Sciences & Health

Complete details available at bemidjistate.edu/commencement.