see, i actually have a love hate relationship with simone & the board at RIT (at least in the year of 2001, i believe).

Yes, he’s made so many great changes at RIT, but there were times when I felt like he was being a stick in the mud. Anytime anything bad happened at MIT, RIT’s policy changed so that wouldn’t happen.

But I have to look at the bright side, Simone did make some wonderful changes at RIT (with the exception of that god forsaken piece of scrap metal hanging outside of the SAU). He’s brought only the best to RIT.

Unlike Gallaudet, with their students seeing their president as internally focused, RIT is very much externally focused — focused on ensuring that enough funds are padding the endowment (which was so tiny back then that scholarships award were eating at the principal. However, Al Simone brought to this job an incredible sense of humility — witness his weekly meetings with a variety of students from all walk of life, including students from NTID. Witness his willingness to learn basic signs just to communicate with deaf people. Witness his willingness to stop and talk with you if you want to have a word or two at the SAU or the admin building.

That is what make him a special breed of his own. Even today, he still keep in touch with University of Hawaii, his last job. I do not doubt his willingness to help RIT throughout the future.

Yes, I can sense that Jane Fernandez would not be spoken on the same level as Al Simone in term of “Clinton-esque” interaction with the public. But then, one have to wonders who have the strong foundation of ensuring the college’s future stay incredibly strong, and yet have the down-to-earth ability to ensure that the involved people are onboard on many different levels? After all, there’s only one Clinton.

In my opinion, Dr. Simone has done an outstanding job for RIT. He received his B.A. and Ph.D. in economics. He was one of the guest lecturers in my class and he discussed many fascinating finance perspectives. He explained to us of his experience serving on the board of Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the twelve Federal Banks of the United States. His ideas/experiences floored me. I am not surprised RIT grow rapidly, all because of Dr. Simone. He is a genius.

Hey lookie here — Al Simone weighted in on Gallaudet:

http://cfapps.rit.edu/askthepresident/

Yes, I have been watching the news reports daily on the appointment of the Gallaudet University president. My history with regard to Gallaudet presidential searches goes back 17 years. I knew the current president, King Jordan, before I came to RIT. While I was president of the University of Hawaii, I invited President Jordan to visit our campus so that we could sign a joint agreement establishing an American sign language and deaf culture degree program at one of the colleges that I oversaw as part of the University of Hawaii system. We became friends.

He was the first deaf president appointed. He was not the initial choice of the search committee. They selected and appointed a hearing president. Because of the uproar from the faculty and students at the time, they reversed that decision and appointed King Jordan. President Jordan has done an outstanding job at Gallaudet. It is ironical, to me, given the history I just recited, that even though a deaf person has been selected by the trustees this time, there still is an uproar from faculty and students demanding a rescinding of this presidential appointment. When President Jordan was appointed, the cry was “A deaf president Now”. At this time, the cry seems to be “Not deaf enough”.

The individual nominated is a woman who has been serving as Provost for several years. She was born deaf to deaf parents. Her education from the earliest days was through mainstream schools. She voices and did not learn American Sign Language until she was 22 or 23 years old. Some individuals who object to her candidacy say that she is not sufficiently sensitive to deaf culture, having spent so much time with hearing individuals. Some folks countered that argument with the fact that most deaf people have to earn a living and live a life in a mostly hearing world, and her comfort level in that community would be a plus as she performs her duties. This sounds very much like the “culture wars”. There are the people who say that this has nothing to do with deaf culture. Rather, it has to do with the candidate herself. In the view of some people, she is distant from students and faculty and has a tendency to be “dictorial”. On the other hand, King Jordan knows her well, and should be (I believe) listened to carefully; he staunchly is in her camp and thinks that she can do an outstanding job.

Putting it all together, where do I stand? I really am not close enough to the situation to have an informed decision. RIT/NTID sees Gallaudet University as a sister university and we would like it to succeed in every way. In situations like this, one has to rely on a solid process. This is a process in which it is recognized that the decision really lies with the Board of Trustees - it is they who have the fiduciary responsibility for the welfare of the university. However, solid principles of shared governance require that the Board solicit and listen carefully to input from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other constituents, and that there be conversations with these constituents so that as much information as possible can be obtained and as much understanding as possible can be achieved on all sides. At the end of that process, the Board of Trustees should make the decision that is the best for Gallaudet. I would expect - certainly hope - that all the constituencies (whether they favor the decision or not) would support the new president whomever it is.

I wonder if the RIT student president will have any role on the PSC? And perhaps be able to contribute her perspectives based on her recent weekend in Tent City?