Seventeen Pages Convey Lack of Leadership
By Chris and Allison Kaftan on Thu 26 Oct 2006 |
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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.
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I read the letter this morning in its entirety. Bob Johnson’s letter was the first one I’d read that really broke down all the issues one by one and put them back together. I feel like this document really validates all the issues that have been going on. You’re right — it is so clear and so simple when you read it. I hope the BOT reads it. This is the kind of document that the students need to be able to put out — something clear and simple (even if lengthy) so as to enable people to truly understand their positions, their issues, etc. Just a rallying cry of UFG and demands for resignation are not enough.
I just read the entire letter in one sitting too. Though not particularly a supporter of JKF herself, I do support the process by which she was chosen, and have confidence in the BoT and IKJ’s leadership. I need to read Dr. Johnson’s essay again, but right now, my first response is … disappointment. Instead of stepping up to the plate and offering to help the university in real and practical ways … instead of bringing his considerable mental powers to bear in this complex situation … he lays it all on Jordan to fix. Evidently, for Dr. Johnson, love and loyalty for Gallaudet are just pretty words, with no actions behind them. If the system is so innately flawed, why did not Dr. Johnson do something about it during the 25 years he was there? It’s easy to sit back, point the finger, and criticize when you’re not the one sticking your neck out at the front lines trying to change a system that doesn’t want to be changed.
Maybe because Dr. Johnson is hearing and simply a professor/researcher, not an administrator? Remember in his letter, he said he was surprised to be chosen as one of the faculty representatives.
I know that if I were an administrator, I would not want someone who had no administrative experience to tell me how to do my job. Conversely, if I were a researcher, I would not want an administrator with no research experience to tell me how to do my research.
I think the point of Johnson’s letter was to try to outline the issues simply and clearly, because there has been much discussion about what the issues ARE.
We do still need to see proposals for changes/overhauls to the Gally administration. But who is qualified to propose them? The problem is, this institution is so unique in terms of its constituency. Even experienced higher ed administrators at other colleges would probably be at a loss as to what to do here because of the long-ingrained problems that deal with deafness, communication and culture, not just academics. It’s easy enough for state universities to raise the minimum average SAT scores and plan for a drop in enrollment for 2-4 years because they’re big enough and can handle fluctuation. Gally isn’t.
Recently, Randolph-Macon Women’s College down in southern Virginia (Lynchburg, I think), made a huge policy change — to begin admitting male students next fall. Many current students and alumni were extremely upset (I don’t know about the percentage of protestors, though) because they felt that the university Board and administration were going against the entire history and culture of the college. The fact is, the college enrollment figures had been declining, and the administration felt that the best way to increase enrollment figures was to begin admitting male students. And because they’re doing that, the name of the college now has to be changed, as there’s already a Randolph Macon College in Virginia (it used to be the male-only counterpart to RMWC). Can you imagine having to change the name of Gallaudet University? Oy, what an uproar THAT would cause!
Bob Johnson used to be the Associate Dean for graduate student body until last year.
Oh, interesting. I didn’t realize that — I wonder why he didn’t point that out in his background in the letter. Maybe because it was assumed?
Researcher? His last publication was in 1994 according to his bio gally website.
Now, aren’t professors supposed to do scholarly research and have them published annually or so in peer reviewed journals? Isn’t the idea to write “books” or research papers and the students will come seeing they’re quality professors still interested in their works?
have you seen the gally website?? it’s one of the worst websites i’ve ever seen. it’s not updated regularly and information is very difficult to find.
mcconnell,
I noticed that a long time ago. Did you know Gallaudet website’s poorly updated before making your comment #28844?
mcconnell,
I am waiting for your answer.
Seems to me that the Gally website is fairly updated. I found JK’s cover letter to the BoT for her application. Someone on LiveJournal pointed me to it.
I must say that I’m quite startled that the protestors haven’t played this up to the media, because there’s a paragraph in there that lends GREAT credence to the process being flawed:
“Gallaudet’s mission holds both personal and professional meaning for me. I am a white deaf woman, the daughter of a deaf mother and a hearing father, with both deaf and hearing brothers, all of whom are white people. The generations of white deaf and hearing people in my family have never signed; they have always been oral people.”
This quote and the rest of the letter can be found at http://tinyurl.com/y42fse
This quote disturbs me because I don’t see the relevance of her ethnicity, but yet, she mentions it three times. I’m not sure what point she’s trying to convey in her closing paragraph when she emphasizes her ethnicity and her oral background…
~ Deaf Pundit
Gene Mirus is a new assoc/assistant professor in the ASL/Deaf Studies dept. He started in Fall 2005. He’s still not listed as faculty (I checked about a week or two ago).
The overall campus website is fairly reguarly updated, but individual departments vary. Some are better than others, and some are sorely lacking.
That doesn’t reflect well on Gallaudet, IMHO. Something for the university to think about…
Curious Eyes,
The point of this document is clearly to analyze the ongoing situation, not to offer an exhaustive list of solutions.
Ben, this document certainly was an exhaustive analysis of the situation. As if we haven’t all been busily admiring the problem and needed to hear more about it.
I was referring specifically to the quote above, where “Dr. Jordan asked me directly what I could do about the crisis. I said… teach my classes and write about it.” I mean, really — you’d think after 25+ years at Gallaudet, Dr. Johnson could come up with something better than that. I’m just guessing here, but I sense that Dr. Johnson doesn’t really want to help anybody. It’s just so much easier to take potshots from the sidelines. Then he can mentally buff his nails and congratulate himself for being a maverick and an iconoclast.
We couldn’t come up with a solution before we knew what the problem was.
In that order, I think Dr. Johnson has done a terrific job of taking us down the first steps towards a solution.
I beg to differ, WSS — at this point, I think everyone who reads this blog is very well aware of what the problems were. They were big, nasty problems — systemic problems — not easy to solve, and not by a single person. The problems are not any one person’s fault, and the problems are common to all large universities and corporations. One of the main reasons I’m not in support of the protest is because the protestors’ methods do not lead to a solution. Call attention to the problems, oh, most definitely… but fix them, no.
I agree that it isn’t just one person’s fault. However, a president who doesn’t support the status quo and has actual leadership qualities would be a *start* of a solution.
I’d like to point out here that just sustaining the status quo, i.e., running a university, is a plenty big enough leadership job all by itself. Major system change is a separate kind of leadership. Once again, a single person can’t do this all by himself or herself. Instead of merely a new president, the protestors want Gallaudet to be run in an entirely new way that it never has before. Lots of big new ideas are being thrown about, as if they will be so easy to implement. Like the Higher Education website said — you’re looking for someone in blue spandex with a red cape.
Nah. We’re just looking for someone who isn’t Lex Luthor. ;) Someone more Clark Kentish.
I enjoyed Professor Johnsons’ perspective because he is a well known anthropologist/linguist and his views as an scholar is valuable. We need professors to tell us what is really going on with the faculty because the patterns of abuse from the administration are so obivious.
Gallaudet professors should not resort to threats from the Board of Trustees because they may upset the legislators at the Capitol Hill. This is totally absurd and irrelevant.
For any who haven’t read Johnson’s work yet, I believe DeafLinux is referring to his illustration of Jordan and the BOT using the loss of Congressional funding (and, by extension, the loss of Gallaudet) as a tool by which to threaten, intimidate, and yes, administrate.
For example, see pages 13 and 14, where he explains his theory on just how the use of fear (of the loss of the deaf school) is manipulated, and pages 5 and 6 where he shares personal experience where BOT members told him to stop sharing information during scholarly presentations and publications simply because it might hurt Congressional funding.
I’ve met him. He’s a thoughtful guy. Bob Johnson is a decent man, but he is part of the problem besetting Gallaudet. For 25 years, he has not appeared to step up to the plate with respect to the underlying problems.
Nevertheless, the points he brings up are valid. I have to express my disappointment in the fact that Fernandes has not bothered to step up to the plate and reach out to the protesters BECAUSE that is what a leader does. A leader doesn’t seclude herself and issue press releases and interviews while not addressing directly the protests. It is very well possible that she is hobbled by Jordan’s handling of the entire affair, but she still has a chance or had a chance, if you will, to differentiate herself from Jordan.
I think that whatever chance she had in maintaining the presidency is gone. She had the chance in the last few months and especially in the last couple of weeks, but nothing has been done and so nothing has been resolved.
As I said, I don’t know anything about Fernandes’ tenure as Provost or her role at Laurent Clerc, but what I have seen of her lack of attention in focusing on the protests is … well… not a leader that I would want. She just doesn’t reach out.
Actually, Middle States Association and Congress probably do care very much about the stability of the university. Both are accountable and have to make sure they accredit or fund (as the case may be) institutions that reflect well on them. It is not a matter of administration “threats.” Everyone should be concerned about this, in my opinion.
The word “lie” or “lies” is used 28 times in this letter (mainly in regard to the administration). I don’t think these pages “convey lack of leadership” as much as one person’s opinion on a lot of issues.
I also agree with others that the problems won’t be solved by pointing the finger at one person and saying “You do it.” (Or “You haven’t done it.” Or “You should have done it.” etc.) We’re all in this together.
Right. We’re all a part of this big mess. Each one of us is accountable for this in one form or another. How come am I, seemingly so, the only person who has been stepping up to the plate for these past weeks acknowledging my own responsibility to this mess that we *ALL* created somehow spanning back many years?
Everybody seems to want to assign blame here, except for themselves. Especially the protesters who probably created the biggest stinkpile to date.
And how come didn’t the protesters who took over HMB didn’t clean up their messes on a daily basis by keeping the halls clean, trash cans emptied, bathrooms a mess, and so on? How come they won’t acknowledge that mess they created?
Opinion?
How can it be someone’s opinon that she didn’t met with the protesters at all, despite what she said in the editoral? It’s not an opinion. It’s a fact. She said something that is not true. That is called a lie, not an opinion.
McConnell, I’ve heard nothing about a messy bathroom, etc:. Where are the pictures? The proof? I did see a pix- and it was a picture of a mop the protesters bought, standing in a clean bathroom.
Sorry, I’m not taking your word for it.
As it has been said many a times in this blog how can we have a dialogue when everyone insists on streching the truth.
JK did meet with the protesters. The student leaders (at that time) showed a video of their meeting for all to see at tent City last Thursday. At least two other meetings between protesters and IKJ/JK have been videotaped. I was there I watch it.
HMB was left a complete mess. PPD had to be called in on Sunday to clean it up. My aunt works for PPD she is off of Sunday. It took a crew a whole shift to clean the place.
I believe the videotaped meeting took place days after JKF claimed that they met. I’ll have to recheck my sources.
2) I haven’t seen the inside of HMB on the last day students occupied it, so I can’t say anything- except that I know there were LOTS of tents and sleeping bags. When PPD seized the building, the University took it upon themselves to clean HMB out.
For the record:
I wouldn’t be surprised if HMB was indeed a mess, especially the atrium. DPS confiscated the building while students were elsewhere, thus depriving students a chance to get out their personal belongings, and take out the trash. But from what I heard, yes, students did keep the place as clean as they could. They were not given the opportunity to clean up completely before DPS took over.
oops i meant ‘when DPS seized the building’ LOL.
Anyway, according to http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....1492.html, JKF claimed that she met with students on Oct. 10. This picture indicates that the meeting on video took place on the 13th. http://photo.xanga.com/ladymuc.....hoto.html.
The HMB was cleaned every night. I saw several volunteers mopping and vaccumming the place every night - students, faculty, everyone.
Yes, and I was in HMB frequently during the period it was locked down. Never saw a mess.
I love McConnell!
Dr. Bob Johnson is a fraud. We’re better off listening to you, cocooned up in New Mexico and hugging your computer, forsaking human contact. You’re the man.
Tell us more on how to think about this crisis!
Read my blogs and you’ll know.
Hello all,
Dr. Bob Johnson’s letter has really hit the nail and I am simply following up to his comment as to what we can do to change Gallaudet University. This is exactly like a game of chess. The Horse takes the Bishop while the Rook takes the Pawn. We need to go after the Queen and checkmate the King. Hopefully, This will help all of us understand what is really happening….
PSYOPs – Psychological Operations campaign. It is not really a difficult subject to understand, but many try to make it overly complex and in the end failed to understand it at all.
PSYOP basically have two functions. “To Persuade and to Inform.” Persuasion is important. But supplying information is more powerful.
This is a comprehensive effort with several aims: To build protester’s support for their voices being heard, counter Gallaudet PR propaganda, unnerve IJK & JF’s troops, and loosen the Gallaudet Administration resolve to fight
A comprehensive PSYOP campaign with strategic (aimed at IKJ and JK) as well as tactical (aimed primary at BoT) operations should work. Some operation has been done but the protestors are not fully able to utilize this effectively.
First, any political, legal, informational or economics action can be psychological in nature, and therefore part of a strategic PSYOP plan at the national level. Second, any informational action in the peaceful protesters sphere of influence can be psychological in nature as part of the protestor’s PSYOP plan. Third, any protestors action on the theatre of protesting can be part of the tactical PSYOP plan. Really good folks with great psychological minds understand the psychological nature of the theatre of protesting.
This is exactly what we need. There is INFORMATION WAR going on and the protesters, without the advice of the professional PR cannot match the highly paid PR people Gallaudet administrators are getting advice from. Our goal is to not lose the “information war” and we need to do something to make this happen.
This means that a strategic campaign aimed at telling the world why fighting Gallaudet University is not evil but more of shedding out the truth.
Right now, there is two different things happening on Gallaudet Campus. OVERT and COVERT. Overt, done openly and without any attempt at concealment and Covert, not intended to be known, seen, or found out. So far we are seeing the protestors doing the Overt campaigning while we are seeing Gallaudet administrators doing the Covert campaigning. This is not fair. It’s time that we turn the tide over. It’s time for the protestors start thinking of Covert methods. We need to split the plan into two halves.
The goals of PSYOP should be aimed simply at countering the propaganda Gallaudet University administrators are spreading. The PYSOP Deaf Voice Warriors job is to set the record straight. Congress and Public Opinion are vital to the protestors, a carefully constructed group, and so it is a vital that the world know in general, know the truth about why protestors are fighting IKJ and JK as well as the BoT decision..
EX.. Washington Post is the media center, the Gallaudet “Hollywood.” The highly regarded newspaper Washington Post is there, many news and international news organization center get their information from Washington Post. If you want to get words out to the people outside of Gallaudet world – you want to work through them.
The intensive Gallaudet University PR propaganda machine requires countering with factual information that JK in every way a despicable person – a horrific leader who did not care about deaf people, an unjust person, a terrible listener, an untrustworthy administrator and a liar in everything she says. This is not the leader we want to lead us into the next generation.
It is the Deaf Voice Warriors goal to aim to point out these truths and strip JK of support from the world outside and elsewhere. We need to form a cooperative effort out of Washington Post and NPR to counter continuous Gallaudet propaganda.
We need to get words out to the general population (Congress, Parents and others) that noted IJK and JK faulted in their reasoning and justification. We need to find ways to put this out through plays, radio, TV shows, magazines, newspapers and letters to the editors of different newspapers where the Board of Trustee lives or different cities. At the end will be a chorus of Voices (Should I say signs) in all media denouncing Gallaudet University’s administration and Board of Trustee.
We can do it like a political campaign’s media advisor suggesting talking points for Gallaudet protestors and others who would counter Gallaudet propaganda. We can do four or five information points every day or two for leaders of the protestors to use in public interview, press conference, and statement. We can do this twice daily news conference will be held and specifically invite the Post. The participants might even go to the offices of the Post to hold the news conference. This will show that the protestors, faculty, other organization really speak with one mind.
Alumni’s and folks from all over the world can help by writing to their cities plays, radio, TV shows, magazines, newspapers and letters to the editors. This will help generate world opinion on Gallaudet University’s behavior toward the protestors.
It’ll be magic to watch all this unfold. Of course, Deaf Voice Warriors, You will be satisfied with accomplishment because you sure as hell won’t get any recognition. But you would have achieved the PSYOP goals. Let’s turn this around should the BoT still decide to keep JK. This battle can be won easily.
Voices from the Storm, Byron Bridges
thanks Byron for sharing your insights. I think Bob Johnson’s letter is excellent too. Why didn’t he speak up before–that’s debateable and I’d rather not get into that but what I’m seeing is that the situation right now is UNHEALTHY! FYI–GUAA is hiring (or already hired) a PR firm to engage war of information.
How about having the GU Administration to present their rebuttals to his paper - in writing with clear explanations?
A few comments:
-I wish Johnson provided even more examples and facts in his paper. Otherwise, I appreciated what he wrote.
-For those who say that he’s a part of the problem and not doing anything; Isn’t he doing something now by writing on what the ISSUES are?
-I wish that there were simple truths and complex lies instead.
I stopped reading it as soon as he said Fernandes wasn’t part of the deaf community.
Yeah. I understand why you quit reading after that.
It was an interesting letter to read. Dr. Johnson makes several good points, which are definitely worth pondering, but overall, it seems to me that this is mostly just his opinions.
I would’ve liked to see more concrete facts and documentation. Maybe I’m just hard to please, but I would’ve liked to see more elaboration on what makes JKF a bad leader. The letter did make it clear why IKJ isn’t such a good leader anymore, but not so much regarding JKF’s leadership skills.
Just my two cents.
~ Deaf Pundit
Kristi,
I assume you mean the following phrase:
In the second case, the current one, there were three candidates, one
with substantial, high-level university administrative experience, who
also speaks quite intelligibly and is not of the deaf community. - Professor Johnson
==============
I wonder what Professor Johnson meant by that exactly?
You brought up an interesting point, Kristi. I admittedly read over that part. I think this needs to be discussed.
(For others’ reference, Johnson says JK is “not of the deaf community in the “DPN and Unity for Gallaudet” section on page 9.)
I saw that and it gave me pause too. But I’d like to know Johnson’s definition of “being of the deaf community.” I certainly think she is, but I’m giving Johnson the benefit of the doubt because definitions of membership in the deaf community vary from person to person.
My definition includes everyone who has experienced the impact of hearing loss on their lives (including CODAs and hearing parents and friends).
But I have seen some people define membership as regularly attending deaf social and political functions (voluntarily, not as a job-related function), using ASL fluidly, and other criteria that are slipping my mind now. If that’s the definition Dr. Johnson’s using, then I can see why he says she’s not of the deaf community.
In any case, I don’t think it’s a reason to disregard Dr. Johnson’s letter in its entirety. I, like DT, am sorry if you feel that way.
It is a reason for discussion, though, and I’d love to see more (yes, more!) of that.
Who decides the criteria of who is of the deaf community? The hearing Dr. Johnson?
Okay, let’s talk about the “criteria”. She *works* at a deaf university five or six days a week. She joined a deaf pageant. She learned ASL at a time when she didn’t have to. She went off her original track of being a French/Italian translator when she found the Iowa deaf community and committed her life to deaf education. Yes, she talks while signing, but no one will convince me she is incomprehensible. If using ASL fluidly is a criteria, then Dr. Johnson still erred in his listing of Jordan King as deaf, even through Fernandes signs better than King. This is enough to tell me that this 17 page paper is not a objective analysis, but a biased missive. To compare her to Zinser, who had zero experience with deaf people, zero knowledge of ASL, zero prior affiliation with deaf organizations…make no sense to me.
And by the way,off the point,this is for folks who keep talking about King and Fernandes being godparents to their children, let us refresh our basic math calculations. Fernandes is not even 50 yet. Jordan’s children are fully grown adults, with families of their own. How could it be that she could be King Jr’s or Heidi’s godmother? Even if they go way back, it’s unlikely that she is the godfather to both of the Jordan kids. I hope this kills the rumor. Now back to the paper, or more specifically, a missive—
If it was an objective analysis and not a missive, what would an ethical researcher do? Would they just focus on hunting and then listing a litany of only negatives and attempting to tie it to a specific person (never mind that in the real world, a combination of factors usually intersects to cause problems), or look for both positives and negatives, just everything? For example- 9/11 happened not just because hijackers crashed planes. Other factors intersected- failure of screeners to check more throughly some of the hijackers when the screening booth beeped, failure of CIA and FBI to cooperate together to share information they had, so on and on. To just blame the truly evil Osama Bin Laden alone for 9/11 is simplistic, just like to blame Fernandes alone for the problems of the last 6 years is simplistic. Where was this missive for the last six years if Dr. Johnson was so concerned about what was happening?
I don’t need to read the rest of the paper to know that Dr. Johnson didn’t talk about the following:
Under Fernandes’s time at Galladuet
1.The President’s Fellows- her idea on how to increase the number of DEAF faculty to replace retiring faculty at Galladudet. How many of them benefitted from it to date? Ray Merritt (biracial), Dr. Derek Braun, Julie Bourne, Marie Shook-Ogork, Laurene Sims, Cheryl Wu- in the past six years
2.Clerc Center. Teaching Fellows was designed to increase the number of DEAF teachers of COLOR at the Pre-College level. Do you know any comparable program at Riverside? Fremont? Indiana? New Mexico School for the Deaf, Stern’s base? Hmm? For example, Fellow Tyese Wright (black deaf) is finished with her masters and now enrolled in a doctoral program. Fellow Dwight Alston (black deaf male)is on track to finish his masters and become a teacher.
3. Fernandes never objected to putting audism and racism front and center. Did she disagree with the ASL/Deaf Studies and Deafness related programs be the core of the new SLCC? Quite on the contrary, Deaf Studies expanded the last six years. Why is she talking about making the building visual-centric, if she is “not of the deaf community”?
4. Ask Steve Novers how his CAEBER Project got established at Gallaudet.
5. The Honors Program also expanded the last six years.
4.More students of color were receiving assistance to stay in school and graduate the past six years. Ironically, LaToya Plummer would not be there this semester if Fernandes hadn’t agreed to waive her debt and allow her to come back after a two year absence. Biting the hand that saved her, hmm? That’s certainly gratitude for you.
5.She is the first senior administrator at Galladuet to attend *twice* the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity- the largest conference to focus on discrimination on college campuses (gender, race, ethnicity, etc) and has grown to attract over 5,000 higher education people from Presidents, Chancellors, Deans, Chairs of Boards, etc. I know this for a fact because I met her the day she arrived back from that conference and was telling me what she learned. She also attended a very difficult conference that most of the protestors would not stomach- the conference by Dr. Eddie King at the University of Iowa, called “White Privelege.” It is brutually honest and Fernandes sat through it. That says more about commmitment to diversity than any of those protestors- the same ones that spurned the Coalition of People of Color by the way- can ever say about social justice, racism, and audism.
With all that, why should I even bother reading the rest? I’d rather reserve my time and energy on something more substantial.
“o just blame the truly evil Osama Bin Laden alone for 9/11 is simplistic, just like to blame Fernandes alone for the problems of the last 6 years is simplistic.”
Oh please, i don’ thtink anybody believes that she is singlehandely responsible for every screw up on Gallaudet in the past few years. But she does play a major role in it, and to have her as our President would only prolong the same problems. She’s already shown us she’s an ineffective communicator and unable to handle this crisis.
What more do you need?
“unable to handle this crisis”
She is not even the President yet, nor is she the Provost now, what role does she have to “handle” this crisis? Isn’t this Jordan’s responsibility
“[JKF] is not of the deaf community.” - Professor Johnson
Is she not……DEAF ENOUGH??
Kristi, she has been officially named as the “President-Designate.” She also is to be the next president, barring any changes tomorrow or in the next two months, come January 1. I’d say she definitely has a role in this, and that’s to demonstrate some kind of hands-on leadership. The fact that she hasn’t been very visible for most of this month is telling, in my opinion. She could have overcome quite a few objections, especially for those of us who have never personally met her or been on campus during her time at Gallaudet, and shown exactly what it is the Board apparently saw in her. So far, I for one, am still wondering what the Board saw. One can’t just be a leader on paper, one needs to be a leader in reality.
Kristi,
I honestly don’t know what your agenda is but every of your writings that I have read in the blogs out there all have negative undertones.
On #1 above, I am sorry to say but the idea for the President Fellows didn’t originate with JKF. It originated before she became Provost, to be precise, it originated during the time of Roz tenure. I was on the Deaf Advisory Council, a body that King had no regards for, and had it disbanded. At one of our meetings (1998), we heard numerous complaints from Deaf staff members why they weren’t allowed to participate in the program.
On #4, wasn’t it Jay Innes who fought for Steve to move that project to Gallaudet?
On #5, attending a conference and applying what you learned are two different things.
Kristi:
Yes, the honors program was expanded somewhat. I was a honors program student during JK’s time, (and when Shirley Myers started the extensive overhaul)…BUT the honors program budget was greatly expanded at the expense of OSWD (Office of Students With Disabilities). The OSWD budget was cut to give the money to Honors Program. Fair? No.
And Kristi, you say the Teaching Fellows program at the Clerc Center was supposed to increase the number of teachers of color? Wrong. It was supposed to do two things: give an opportunity for young adults to start their teaching career with financial support and guidance from veteran teachers while completing their MA; and to increase the number of deaf teachers. How do I know this? I was the FIRST teacher at MSSD to graduate under the Fellows program. Tyese was the first at Kendall.
Kristi, I respect your desire to validate reasons why Dr. Fernandes is qualified, but I have seen too many incidents as a MSSD student, SBG president at Gallaudet, and as a current Gallaudet employee, to see that she is not the right person to lead Gallaudet.
Chris, I acknowledge that you’ve had plenty of opportunities to see the sides of Gallaudet that are not exposed to public view. I would counter that “incidents,” as you call them, are common to any large organization, including schools. After all, these are human beings we’re talking about here. They come with a blend of good and bad qualities. We all want top-notch people for Kendall Green, but the availability of top-notch people is always subject to circumstances over which an administrator may or may not have some control. Every administrator wants staff who are competent as well as self-starters and self-motivated. Between the spectrum of competent and inept, there are people who do their jobs pretty well most of the time. Last I heard, the OSWD office is still operating and has a lot of staff. Expanding the Honors Program is compatible with increasing academic standards for Gallaudet.
Kristi, I’m sorry that was your take on it. I think you owe it to justice to see the letter to it’s end.
Me too! There’s a lot of good information in there.
I heard that CBS News with Katie Couric will interview Latonya Plummer tonight at 6:30pm
Heard that she mostly talked about herself.
looks like it. here’s the link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories.....1071.shtml
yeah.. i know! I thought I was watching Sunday Morning on CBS… ha. I still dont know why or how they picked her. she looked unprofessional! it was a drag and very boring..
I suspected they picked her to show that the protest does indeeed have “diversity”. Know what I’m saying?
Kristi, you are as usual spot on. And, has anyone else noticed Tara Holcomb running around talking about COSC being the first to point out the flawed process? Pretty ironic.
researchers are lousy managers. Managers are lousy researchers. Guess who are at the top of universities’ departments? Ph.D. with mostly research management but not administrative management.
I took the time to read 17 pages. Here’s my thought.
I have the most respect for a person who says, “I admit I made a mistake.” Too many simple lies like Dr. Johnson said are hurtful and producing more damages. It is clear.
The pepper spray incident still bothers me the most. It was the turning point where I started to lose my respect for the Gallaudet Administration. Then I kept seeing more simple lies coming in from the Gallaudet Administration. I dropped my jaws in disbelief so are many other people. It is absolutely sad and unacceptable.
Thank you Dr. Johnson, for the courage to give examples.
I look forward to the beginning of reconciliation period.
We have a picture of a pepper spray can shoved in someone’s face. That’s all. That doesn’t mean any actually came out of the can.
Have you ever seen someone get sprayed in the face? If this had occurred (worst, to a Deaf person), why did the victim(s) not RUSH to the hospital? They just sat there, patiently waiting for the unbearable pain to subside? How can we just take their word for it? Why not wait until the investigation has been completed?
It also irks me to hear about the “excessive force” by DPS officers. DPS officers (and officer) is allowed to use force. That’s a fact of life. We all saw the video of protestors being pushed in HMB, but only AFTER they followed and surrounded the DPS officer. The students were taking advantage and trying to provoke him. If he was an MPD officer, they would not have surrounded him (unless they have absolutely no common sense). That is not excessive force. That is completely justifiable. If they would have truly been peaceful they would have simply sat and not followed the cop around.
And no, not all the DPS officers know sign language, but it works really well for the admin when students continue to say this on camera and the local news channels show DPS officers signing in the next clip. They are digging their own graves.
I understand somebody did get sprayed on the side of the head and was taken to the hospital to make sure he’s okay. Do I have evidence on paper? No.
Well, the person who got sprayed would have discharge papers from the hospital, no?
So we can look forward to truth in reconciliation committees?
Apology and forgiveness of mistake brings healing and reconciliation. Gallaudet University has to face a healing process.
I was inclined to laugh when I came across Johnson’s inventive portrayal of how the poor deaf community and rest of the world was being spun by machiavellian spin meisters of the slick, though diabolical Gallaudet PR office, the office you contact when you want to request a campus tour or you want to suggest a feature story on for On The Green.
In reality, that office’s staff, though pleasant in a low-key way, are the last people anyone would describe as slick and, in fact, in the past year have been shown to be not nearly machiavellian enough to counter the tireless protester anti-administration pr campaign.
ananke: I absolutely agree! After all, this is Mercy Coogan, ex-nun, we’re talking about. She has a staff of only 2 or so.
I don’t think it’s the GAlly PR office doing this stuff. If I remember correctly, they hired outside consultants. Ridor wrote something about that.
Oh, and the PR isn’t perfect, either. They’re making mistakes.. i.e. pepper incident, bulldozing, and unfortunate choice of language from time to time.
right — “Draco Malfoy” is a font of truth and honesty. Haven’t seen a shred of proof about the outside PR consultant, though. Add it to the ever-growing mountain of allegations and conspiracy theories.
CE:
GUFSSA has released a press release on October 26, (see here: http://news.gufssa.com/page/3/) stating that the University has hired an outside firm: Dickstein Shapiro, LLP.
While some of you may not trust content on http://www.gufssa.com, for them to lie or fabricate allegations isn’t a good move on their part — so I am leaning towards believing that Gallaudet HAS hired outside firms (or individuals) to help with this PR crisis.