In an announcement today, the University of North Carolina-Asheville has named Dr. Jane K. Fernandes as the new Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, effective upon approval of the University’s Board of Trustees.
Fernandes, who most recently served as the president-designate of Gallaudet University and the Provost for six years, beat out more than 160 applicants for the UNC-Asheville job, according to the press release from the University.
UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder explained that Fernandes’ goals and academic credentials best suits her for the job.
Jane Fernandes is an exceptionally talented and experienced individual whose achievements and expertise ideally suit our University’s goals and mission.
Ponder goes on to state that Fernandes is “…skilled in strategic planning, curriculum and faculty development and has directed university programs that improve K-12 education.”
Fernandes is currently still under contract at Gallaudet as a tenured faculty member in the ASL/Deaf Studies department and is currently scheduled to teach several courses this coming spring semester. Whether this new job will prevent her from resuming her duties at Gallaudet remains to be seen.
Fernandes was largely the source of the October 2006 Gallaudet Protests that returned national attention to Gallaudet University, 19 years after the Deaf President Now movement.
She was accused of mismanagement, unwillingness to work with constituents on campus, and was seen as too much in the mold of retiring President I. King Jordan. Her appointment sparked a protest in May of 2006 that was resumed that following October.
During the October protests, information surfaced regarding how Fernandes was ineffective as a leader, including the Clerc Center letter written by faculty and staff at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, accusing her of ineffective leadership as the Vice President of Pre-College National Mission Programs before she became the Provost at Gallaudet.
Fernandes mentioned that she is “looking forward to working with Chancellor Ponder.”
Fernandes becomes the second presidential candidate from Gallaudet University to work in the University of North Carolina system. Dr. Elisabeth Zinser, the 7th president of Gallaudet University, was the vice chancellor of UNC-Greensboro.
Once approved by the Board of Trustees, Fernandes’ position starts July 1, 2008.
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UNC, Take Jane now, pretty please.
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Amy - I can’t help but to think that your comment is so immature. Fernandes got a new job that starts in July, so what? Do you really have to “rub salt in the wound”? Be careful Amy, there’s a certain thing called “karma” that could come back and bite your ass hard…
Respectfully yours,
p-
And what’s more… Jane Fernandes has already accomplished a lot in her life… far more than what Amy Cohen Efron will ever do.
Amy’s just participating in groupthink. She never even met her…
I did meet her. Do not assume.
Anon/Ponder –
Fernandes represented the deaf community…nah. She is the pretty same person for over 20 years. Snubs, cold shoulders, nonfriendly, ignored people’s feelings, unsupportive, no responses via emails from her to the many deaf students/leaders such as Student Body Government organization over the years. I did meet her when I was student. Pretty same person.
She ignored the residential management where the two murders occurred in 2000’s. No supportive from her to the CREs, PAs and SRAs, that was where several SRAs and PAs found the bodies in the dorm. Terrible, huh? She did not do her job in the crisis management.
Come on, Fernandes, you better improve yourself and make consideration for others at UNC.
White Ghost
White Ghost,
We all already know this. Nothing new here. My point was -and still is- why can’t some of you move on and turn the page? What good is it to continually whine about Fernandes’ doing? She’s out of the Gallaudet community already, no? Time has come to let her live her life. Be honorable.
Everybody have the right to know about her history…..
I do not think that she is representing the deaf community at all and she go back to the hearing community. All she wants herself to be a good name. That is all.
What we complain about in others is what we hate in ourselves. Get over yourselves, please. At least Dr. Fernandes impresses mature adults.
I say, “wish her well.” Amy, you didn’t even know her yet delighted in making smarky comments about her. I hope you never have to experience the personal attacks you heaped on her. She is a very bright woman, and UNC Asheville is lucky to get her.
Hi Deb, I try to see her appointment from another angle. Obviously or I think so, our deaf folks seems to be shortsightened. I think the UNC Asheville will be groundbreaking for her. I am sure she is going to be prepared, tested and proven in UNC to the extent that if she decides to apply to become the 10th President of Gallaudet University, history will be in making. I think Board will find it difficult to dismiss her amazing resume and achievement at UNC. Have anyone ever wonder that she is possibly nursing tha ambition of coming back as the President of Gallaudet University. If she has the gut to come as professor in ASL/Deaf Studies Department, what will possibly stop her from considering position of President with her improved resume and achievement at UNC?
Congratulations Jane Fernandes!
Wonderful isnight David… She is a brave woman and thats a possibility.
-Bobby
Good luck to Fernandes. I’m sure everyone, including her, will be more happy at UNC.
Fernandes have made herself pretty clear through her comments and actions last year and this year.
There is no denying that Fernandes is an exceptionally bright woman. We are glad she is moving on to greener pastures. We are proud that she will be the first deaf provost in a hearing university without a huge deaf program. What a big honor!
Congrats, Fernandes!
IAWTC
Irony. What’s it with Gallaudet and the University of North Carolina system? Dr. Zisner was at UNC-Greensboro as Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs when she applied, interviewed and was selected as President of Gallaudet University. Now this with Dr. Fernandes!
Zinser was actually a very qualified candidate (even Tim Rarus had no initial objections), and had things been different, she probably would have worked out fine as president at Gallaudet. She was a relative innocent in a civil rights struggle, and realized what was happening fairly quickly. To her credit, she resigned, and moved on. She went on to do well in North Carolina and Idaho in top academic administrative positions. So I don’t think zinging North Carolina over their selection of Zinser is necessary.
Fernandes is the living embodiment of the Peter Principle; quite different from Zinser. Nevertheless, I think Deaf Pundit and Mishka Zena are correct– this worked out well in the end all around, and I agree with Mishka Zena: it’s great that UNC was willing to hire a deaf woman at a school with no substantial program for deaf students, and no obvious ties to the deaf community. This could turn out to be a win-win for all of us, really. Fernandes gets a job, Gallaudet gets the leader it needs and deserves, and if Jane Fernandes does well at UNC, that could open the door for others who wish to follow in her footsteps.
So I join in congratulating Ms. Fernandes on winning the job. I also congratulate Dr. Davila for his hard work since assuming the presidency; it’s still early to tell, but it looks like his efforts (and the efforts of tons of people at Gallaudet) are paying off.
Here it is:
http://citizen-times.com/apps/.....source=rss
Jane Fernandes stated ” Students were concerned that Fernandes did not fit some of the traditional expectations of the deaf community,” Fernandes said, For example, she didn’t learn American Sign Language until she was 23.
That is *NOT* true at all.
She mismanaged the Crisis Management when there were two murders that occurred.
White Ghost
White Ghost,
She mismanaged the Crisis Management? How so? Jumping up and down on the stage does not say it all.
Let’s wish her well.
not to bite your head off, Mishkazena, but I do not, and never will consider jane as a deaf person…
Regardless…
i mean, if she’s a truly deaf person, she would never let the “black friday” happen… over 130 arrested, and for what??? her selfishness, simple as that.
“Deaf Card,” she’s deaf. That’s undeniable.
While most of us (including myself) are rightfully angered and disappointed by her lackluster leadership, and disgusted by her comments since the revocation of her appointment, she’s still physically and audiologically deaf. In that sense, she’s one of us and always will be.
She could have been hearing, and “Black Friday” would still have happened. Her poor leadership skills, her lack of people skills, and her ineptness at handling many things have nothing to do with whether she’s deaf or hearing– it has to do with her as a *person*.
Personally, I think we should use this opportunity as a chance to close the book on Fernandes. She probably will sever her ties to Gallaudet once she starts at UNC. Let her move on, and let’s do the same ourselves. Right now we have a far more important task: helping Davila and everyone at Gallaudet complete the process of restoring Gallaudet’s accreditation, and then helping Gallaudet and the Deaf community achieve its potential. Continuing to tear down a failed leader isn’t going to help us achieve that.
I do not think she deserves praises or congratulations, especially from deafies.
She has hurt the image of Gallaudet and yet you people are singing praises for jane, or for her “so called” achievements… think twice, please…
Hence, the reason I used the small d instead of the capitalized D when I said deaf. She is not culturally Deaf but audiologically she is deaf.
Dismayed, I suggest you reread the comments very carefully. : )
By no means am I singing praises for JK. I’m merely wishing her good luck on her new job. Like David so eloquently put it, it’s a good way to close this sordid chapter on her and Gallaudet. That’s how I view it.
SHE has hurt the image of Gallaudet? How is this any different than the image created by protestors and the hoopla they created surrounding the whole ordeal?
That’s the pot calling the kettle black
She has not hurt Gallaudet image she has only clarified the image for many.
Agreed completely. Many protestors gloat now about airing all the dirty laundry here at Gallaudet, and forcing people to deal with the ever-present issues at Gallaudet surrounding the sub-standard education, audism, racism, etc. However, they also drew national attention from unwanted sources, such as MSCHE. Taxpayers who were previously unfamiliar with Gallaudet are now outraged that their hard-earned tax money is being used so SSI and VR can cover students at a school like Gallaudet. Senator McCain left the BOT, and has encouraged people on the Hill to think twice before approving funding for Gallaudet.
Fernandes hurt Gallaudet? While I don’t think that she was the right choice for our school’s president, I am certain that she is not the one responsible for tarnishing Gallaudet’s image.
If a certain black person who is acting white, do you think people from black community would accept this person as a member of their community? Or consider this person black?
How exactly does one “act black” so to speak? Can you get any more stereotypical. I’m sure if someone said you “act deaf” meaning an immature, grunting buffoon who lives off of SSI and has the IQ of a kumquat you would be offended.
Funny, many African-Americans are rooting for Barack Obama to be the next president of USA. But think about it…. if Barak wants to head Howard University, many students would decry him as “not black enough”.
Kevin,
They might, see:
http://www.time.com/time/natio.....36,00.html
amy cohen -
love your vlog!!
Amazing so many comments here about her “not being deaf” or “deaf enough.” Interesting, totally interesting!
Yep. Jane was right after all…
The Deaf community continues to shoot themselves in the foot… not really realizing how ironical their comments are.
Ironically, I believe that was the “hidden message” behind the protests to begin with. Of course, that was before the spindoctors in the community got to the media.
Lolypup,
Don’t oversimplify the issue. “Deaf enough” is just two words and means nothing by itself. The real question was whether or not she had good policies in mind for Gallaudet. Her audiological status and cultural status were really not issues at all. Her upbringing was certainly not the issue.
Nobody gives a damn if she started learning ASL at age 23. Many Deaf people started learning at that age, and nobody cares.
huh? We just commented that Fernandes is deaf. She is not culturally deaf, but that doesn’t minimize the fact she is deaf.
And the protest has nothing to do with her deafness. Her inept leadership made her unfit to lead the university as a president, according to the majority of Gallaudet Community.
Many people, including me, have learned sign language after high school. Many professors at Gallaudet who who were exposed to sign language after high school do a great job teaching. Don’t buy into her red herring strategy. The hiring of Davila destroyed the validity of her argument.
inept leadership? Examples please!
I would be more than happy to provide examples. But why would I when I know this will lead to arguments and personal attacks? Just check my blog today where I was bashed repeatedly for daring to congratulate Fernandes on her new job.
Not only that, but the whole thing has been over for a year. JK is moving on. So should we!
Another article…..
here it is:
http://citizen-times.com/apps/.....source=rss
Fernandes stated “Because I grew up as an oral deaf person and I learned ASL later in my life, I didn’t have the right characteristics as a deaf person to be the president the ASL and deaf culture community wanted to have.”
Hello? Jane? You do not know who you are…..come on, Jane, your’e over 50 years old and you have learned ASL when you were 23 years old. That’s over 28 years old. I learned ASL when I was 15 years old and I’m over 45 years old. That is over 30 years……
Jane, I. K. Jordan lost his hearing when he was over 20 years old. He learned ASL for over 50 years.
Jane, you lost your identity and characteristic. Pitiful. Really sad.
Come on, Jane, don’t be coy with us.
White Ghost
White Ghost,
Who has waaaay too much on his/her hands?
Well, I don’t know what to say, so I’ll just take the high road. Congratulations to Dr. Fernandes; I have no doubts as to her academic credentials. I’m sure she could be personable as the next person with people she was on good terms with… though I might gently suggest she consider taking a workshop presented by PR professionals and perhaps some crisis management seminars. That’d probably go a long way in papering over issues some people had with her at Gallaudet.
Anyway, it’s certainly quite the professional achievement, so, congratulations, Dr. Fernandes.
The DPN (of ‘88) leaders were on the record as having said that they never personally had issues with Dr. Zinser as a person and told her so to her face during a special hotel room meeting. She was just unfortunately, the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, from her later writings and interviews, she does genuinely seem proud to have been a catalyst for what happened at Gallaudet, and harbors no ill feelings now that she understands the full context and history. Dr. Zinser served the higher education community very well for many years before and after Gallaudet. Perhaps Dr. Fernandes will be the same? Who knows?
I find it funny that Chris Kaftan mentioned the letter. Of all of the supposed examples of her mismanagement, he chose to write about that ‘letter.’ Now, I think he wrote it himself….
Nothing could be farther from the truth. The group of teachers and staff at MSSD and Kendall wrote the letter. I brought that letter up in my blog because I know of that letter, and I personally experienced several of these situations as a MSSD student myself and heard stories from my former colleagues about how they were mistreated or disrespected as professionals under Fernandes’ tenure.
Whether you want to believe that letter or not is up to you. There have been more examples of her mismanagement that came out during the protests. I just chose the letter as one of many examples.
Congratulations to JK? Well let her move on and see how she handles a hearing university. Perhaps its a better suited job for her as she will not have to function in the Deaf environment.
I have to say, CK is absolutely right! The Clerc Center letter was composed by a group of teachers/staff. Many people had experienced a lot of negative things and events under JK’s reins. It was hard to believe that it could happen. It DID happen!
Public protests should always be well coordinated and timely. The DPN protest was about “Deaf President Now” so it was unified and clear.
What was the message of the last protest? From where I was sitting it was “Gallaudet Sucks”. Honestly, was that the kind of message the protestors wanted to send? If you ask anyone who is not deaf or part of Gallaudet University they would admit they don’t understand what the protest was about. When there’s a long laundry list of issues that’s difficult to communicate through PR, it’s usually better to go through the back door than it is to do a public protest. Since Gallaudet University is a federal agency, a congressional inquiry is probably the most effective way to clean up the mess. A congressional inquiry is a subcommittee made of representatives of Congress who investigate the issues and establish a clear course of action. Since that would put I. King Jordan, Jane Fernandes and other administrators on the stand, it would put them in a very difficult spot.
All the protest did was create sympathy for Jane Fernandes. Now she has a Provost job at a better university. The protestors didn’t win and Gallaudet is still struggling to rebuild its reputation.
The next time Gallaudet students protest it better be constructive and for a good cause. Better yet, be like the top notch colleges and universities and do not protest at all about your own school but about current affairs.
“Better yet, be like the top notch colleges and universities and do not protest at all about your own school but about current affairs.”
Oh really? Harvard. Larry Summers.
Look it up.
Just don’t make such broad assumptions without info to back it up.
That’s all.
“Gallaudet sucks”because it was IKJ and JKF fault. Over 82 % of the faculty and staff and students were complaining the same things!!!!!!!
The aressts and the lies by IKJ and recent commments by JKF showed that were correct. If I wereforced to resign.. I would nevEr bad-nmouth my employer…..BUT JKF DID!!!!!!!
WHAT DOES THAT TELLS YOU ABOUT HER?!!!
“Gallaudet sucks”because it was IKJ and JKF fault. Over 82 % of the faculty and staff and students were complaining the same things!!!!!!!
82%? Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
I should have flown down and worn that t-shirt during the protest. Then again, I was too busy going to class and being educated
Dim Sum,
“Laundry list” was a catch phrase used by Fernandes supporters. You just gave yourself away.
Are you nuts? The protest was a total victory for the protesters. Morale has skyrocketed and quality is improving. The general public was supportive.
You seem to be obsessed with perception over reality. That was Jordan’s downfall. In the end, perception is not the key factor. You should never, ever, ever be more concerned with perception of facts than the facts themselves.
You have a pretty warped perception of reality, “Deep Ears.”