Pamela Holmes, acting chair of the Board of Trustees, announced today that Dr. Robert Davila had been named as the interim president of Gallaudet University.

“I am honored to once again serve my alma mater,” Davila said, according to a statement released by the Gallaudet Public Relations office (linked above). “I am fortunate to possess the energy, drive and dedication that will be required to lead our University over the coming months. I will seek to bring support and benefit to all constituent groups on campus and beyond.”

He begins his duties on January 2nd of the coming year. Was he the best choice? How will he handle a campus community still very much feeling the effects of a protest that led to the vacancy he is now filling?

Tell us what you think.

Tonight, the Gallaudet Board of Trustees voted to terminate their selection of Dr. Jane K. Fernandes as the 9th president of the University. In the press release (linked above), they write, “We understand the impact of this decision and the important issues that inherently arise when a Board re-examines decisions in the face of an on-going protest. The Board believes that it is in the best interests of the University to terminate Dr. Fernandes from the incoming President’s position.” They also call for a time of healing and say they continue to meet on transitional issues.

Regarding the FSSA’s second demand of no reprisals, the release calls for those who violated the law and/or Gallaudet’s code of conduct to be held accountable, saying, “We expect the University to honor its long tradition of respect for each other and property and to return to normal.”

Dr. Jane Fernandes issued a statement, copied and pasted here in its entirety:

It is with deep regret that I heard the Board’s decision to terminate my contract.

I love Gallaudet University and I believe I could have made a significant contribution to its future. I hope that the Gallaudet community can heal the wounds that have been created. I trust that we all want a stronger, better, more inclusive Gallaudet where ASL and Deaf culture have been and always will be at the core of academic and community life.

Dr. I. King Jordan also released his own statement in which he acknowledges the pain the community has experienced and calls for healing. In the same paragraph that he calls for an end to the war of words, he praises Dr. Fernandes and the BOTs initial selection of her, noting that they terminated her “to resolve the current stalemate.”

He ends,

“In my Town Hall speech last November I said there is more that unites us than divides us. I think we lost sight of that for a time and we must work together to refocus on the core values that unite us. We should not look for a resolution to the struggle of recent months in terms of winners and losers. If we do, Gallaudet and our students will be the losers.”

Bob Johnson, a linguistics professor at Gallaudet, sent out with permission to forward or distribute, a 17-page analysis of what he calls “a rather complex situation.” The link given is to bibliomarket’s blog, who has copied and pasted the text in its entirety. S/he also has provided a link to the .pdf file.

While the analysis is somewhat lengthy, the language used is clear, easy, and readable. In short, Dr. Johnson explains how, as opposed to the complex truths that exist, simple lies have been easily exploited by the University administration to garner support in the press. He also portrays the current crisis as one caused by a refusal of the Board, Dr. Jordan, and Dr. Fernandes to lead. He provides anecdotal details from years past to demonstrate the extent of the disinformation the University has disseminated, and he concludes with a call to Dr. Jordan:

Yesterday, Dr. Jordan asked me directly what I could do about the crisis. I said that what I know how to do is to teach my classes and to write about it. He countered that instead of writing about it, I should be communicating with the students to try to get them to stop protesting.

In response, I have a piece of advice for Dr. Jordan: Instead of spinning negative images in the press and instead of flexing your authority, you should be communicating with the faculty and students, ready to adjust some of your rigid thinking, in order to bring this crisis to a conclusion we can all live with.

We welcome discussion on this interesting, elucidated account.

Yesterday on the Deaf Professional Network site, Trudy Suggs posted an excellent interview with Glenn Anderson, the man many consider to be the unjustly shunned candidate for the Gallaudet presidency.

That article can be found here: A Year Later: “Deeply Disappointed” but Optimistic.

In it, Dr. Anderson, who resigned as chair of the Board of Trustees in order to be a candidate, discusses his candidacy, his feelings about the selection and subsequent reaction from the Gallaudet community, and racism on Kendall Green, past and present.

We feel this quite possibly to be the most informed piece of journalism (even as it is largely only an interview with one candidate out of several) resulting from the Gallaudet Presidential Controversy. It is insightful and well worth the read. We can’t wait to see the second part of the interview, which will be posted September 21.

Dr. Michael Moore, a Chemistry professor, was appointed interim Provost today. The announcement came in a late-breaking e-mail from I. King Jordan today.

As for Dr. Moore, we both know him personally and know him to be respected and well-liked among his students, whose opinion may well be the most important right now. One thing Dr. King did not mention in describing Dr. Moore’s background, but we think is important to note is that he is currently an advisor for the SBG. (more…)

Open Letter to NAD Members, Supporters, and Interested Persons

Posted May 25, 2006
To refer others to this page: http://www.nad.org/OpenLetter5; see also http://www.nad.org/GallaudetPresident.

The NAD Board of Directors extended its invitation to Dr. I. King Jordan in January 2006 to keynote the opening ceremonies at the upcoming 48th Biennial NAD Conference, June 29-July 3, 2006 in Palm Desert, CA. The Board wished to recognize Dr. Jordan’s 18 years of leadership, also keeping in mind that this would be his last biennial conference as president of Gallaudet University. Dr. Jordan accepted the invitation in the same month. (more…)

This was also sent out via campus e-mail later in the day yesterday.

May 19, 2006
MEMORANDUM
TO: Members of the Campus Community
FR: I. King Jordan
RE: Interim Provost

In order to allow for an orderly transition to her presidency, Dr. Jane Fernandes will step down as provost and initiate a national search for a new provost. I intend to appoint an interim provost who can serve until someone is selected for the permanent position. I intend to do so with significant community involvement. (more…)

This message was sent out to the campus community via Patti Kunkle this morning:

May 19, 2006
MEMORANDUM
TO: Gallaudet Community
FR: Brenda Brueggemann, Acting Chair, Board of Trustees
RE: Beginning to Address the Concerns We Heard

As we move forward from the events of these past weeks and continue to focus on the future, we wanted to bring you up to date on several important steps the Board, the president and the president select are taking. (more…)

NBC and the Examiner both reported today that Jane Fernandes is moving on as president.

What struck us as interesting in the Examiner article was the assumption that opposition to Fernandes’ selection had fizzled. Bill Myers wrote, “Protest leaders say they’ll keep up the fight, but the tent city that once dominated the campus green has folded up, and the online message board once buzzing with furious exchanges now only works at a steady hum.” (more…)

Again and again, we’ve heard arguments why the Gallaudet protests do or don’t have anything to do with Dr. Fernandes’ deaf identity. Bruce White, a professor in the English Department at Gallaudet, wrote this editorial appearing in this morning’s Washington Post (thanks to K.C. for the tip): (more…)