Gallaudet Protest 2006
In 2006 the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees selected Jane
Fernandes to be the next president of Gallaudet. This action sparked an
outburst at the university. Here's some coverage of that event and its
aftermath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October
2006
While
many on campus celebrated, others warned that a dangerous precedent had
been set. The board allowed itself "to be whipsawed by various
constituencies with a variety of agendas," said Anne D. Neal of the
American Council of Trustees and Alumni in a statement. "Gallaudet's
governance has now proven dysfunctional not once -- but twice. It's
imperative that the board take time to learn from this pathetic episode,
and reestablish credibility. . . ." On Sunday night, some trustees
were treated like rock stars when they returned to campus. After talks
with protest leaders in the "war room" inside Fowler Hall, the
board members who had pushed for a change emerged one by one through the
door as the crowd screamed approval. Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October
2006
THE
BOARD OF trustees at Gallaudet University certainly showed who was in
charge when it voted to terminate Jane K. Fernandes's contract as
president. Sadly, it wasn't the members of the board, who are supposed to
serve the interests of the university. Nor, for that matter, were reason
or right in evidence Sunday as the trustees ousted a woman they had
recently judged to be the best person to lead the renowned school for the
deaf. Instead, what triumphed was lawlessness and the principle that a
university president should be chosen on the basis of popularity.
Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 2006
Since last May, Gallaudet University, the world's
only university designed entirely for deaf and hard-of-hearing students,
has been rocked by protests over the selection of a new president.Jane K.
Fernandes was scheduled to take over from I. King Jordan in January. On
Oct. 29, after protesters shut down the Washington campus for more than
two weeks, the board of trustees revoked Fernandes's appointment. This
fiasco is a striking example of identity politics gone mad. Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 2006
The chair of the Gallaudet University board of
trustees resigned last night, the day after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
stepped down from the board because he disagreed with the decision to end
the appointment of incoming president Jane K. Fernandes. "I cannot in
good conscience continue to serve the board after its decision to
terminate her appointment, which I believe was unfair and not in the best
interests of the University," McCain wrote to outgoing President I.
King Jordan on Monday night. The letter, which was distributed to board
members, was obtained by The Washington Post. Brenda Jo Brueggemann, the
board chair, said in an e-mail last night that she had been thinking about
stepping down since the meeting last week, when the board voted to
terminate Fernandes's appointment. Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November 2006
"There are some students who cannot multiply 4 x
4 and come up with 16 without a calculator," and others who cannot
read English well enough to comprehend a basic news story, faculty members
reported to the board last year. The complaints build on criticism earlier
this year from the Office of Management and Budget, which concluded in an
assessment that "Gallaudet failed to meet its goals or showed
declining performance in key areas, including the number of students who
stay in school, graduate and either pursue graduate degrees or find jobs
upon graduation." The agency labeled as "ineffective" the
use of $108 million in annual federal funding that goes to the university
-- supplying two-thirds of its budget -- and said that the school needed
closer monitoring.
Full
Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
November
2006
Noah
Beckman, president of the student government association, said trustees
told the student group that they hope to have an interim president within
a few weeks. Mike Kaika, a 1972 graduate, offered the trustees specific
guidelines for who he thinks would be best in the role. "We told them
we want someone skilled in American Sign Language," he said. "We
want someone with a diverse background on an academic and an
administrative level. A doctoral degree, of course. And we need someone
who is preferably an alumnus -- there are lots of qualified alumni working
out there -- and there's no excuse not to select someone who fits this
criteria." Full
Story
