When I was about to graduate from M.S.S.D. (in 1995), I sent President I. King Jordan an e-mail. I do not remember what I wrote, except that it had something to do with how happy I was to graduate. To my surprise, he responded quickly with a friendly paragraph or two. Since then, I’ve always remembered him as the University President who took the time to respond to a high school senior.
The title of this WashingtonPost article is quite fitting; how do you really say good bye to a man like I. King Jordan? Such rapid rise- only to be pulled down just as rapidly. Some might say that only he could be responsible for his own demise, yet others would point to the protestors. Outsiders might possibly blame the entire Gallaudet community (well, they’d just say “all deaf people” in general).
With intense love comes intense hate. Which camp are you in?
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Time will tell if Jordan’s view of the “absolutists” was the correct one.
“Jordan said the protests over the selection of an unpopular provost as the university’s next president were sparked by people who wanted the school to be a place apart, a center of deaf culture dominated by American Sign Language. “I believe strongly that if we give in now to the ‘absolutists,’ ” Jordan wrote to the board in November, urging a more inclusive view, “that the future of Gallaudet is threatened.””
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....121_2.html
I do not hate people. I hate labeling. IKJ made this type of label (”absolutists”) without any proper research or academic reference. Since when are Deaf people the “absolutists”? It was his pure invention that excused his own ignorance.
I love IKJ but I do not love what had happened to him. I believe rather firmly that IKJ overstayed his own welcome at Gallaudet University. He should have considered retiring a long time ago when JKF first received the vote of no confidence from the university faculty. I was just amazed by his behavior by dismissing the faculty and then mentoring JKF to follow the same suite by not acknowledging the second and third votes of no confidence by the faculty. It was and continues to be bad news.
When you break the law you pay the price for your acts. M.L.K. went to jail as a testimony to his convctions on civil rights. These Gally protesters broke the law and then demanded immunity. Take away their SSI checks and their Voc. Rehab support and let them sink of swim .
I wont support Gally in the future and I am embarssed by the actions of this minority on the campus.
No matter how many ugly statements are still flying around against IKJ, I firmly support his every word in Washington Post. Gallaudet will become weaker everyday if the protesters continued blackname him. It is time for the protesters especially the leaders to go on with their lives. I still want JKF to get her presidency back after Bob Davila so Gallaudet be well respected again.
Why would you think BoT would offer Jane her job back after Davila leaves? Davila’s replacement will be from the application pool, and Jane, if she has the audicity to do so, applies again, they will dismiss hers. You can’t resubmit a terminated president-elect’s application. The Gallaudet Community had spoken. Not just protestors. The Gallaudet Community also included the Faculty Senate with 81% vote against Jane. BoT knows that. They consist of mostly tenured professors. Nothing BoT can do about them nor change anything. Faculty are there to stay, and will still be there when Davila exits and the new permanent president enters.
So, Jane is out of the picture permanently from the President’s Office. However, nobody seem to know what she will do about her tenure with Deaf Studies department. One wonders if she would want to lock horns with MJ Bienvenu who is the chair.
And Blue Fox, King DID make his own downfall. He knew the student body would be opposed to Jane as well as knowing the faculty would side with the students. They already had spoken out when King bypassed the system and appointed Jane as Provost. King knew she would not be the person Gallaudet would want. He wanted her because she would continue with HIS legacy and his visions for Gallaudet. That is the only reason why he went against the popular opinion of Jane. He wanted the assurance that his legacy at Gallaudet remained through Jane. Sometimes the truth is so simple it is overlooked.
When you act like children you should be treated like kids. Where is the deaf community ? Virginia School for the Deaf graduated eight people last year.
Does the student body demand the right to approve ever action of the Board of Directors? The students has opened up the viper pit of denied expecations that exist at Gally. With an academic record such as Gally has how can ti continue to exis?
To Blue Fox:
“…still want JKF to get her Presidency back…”?? You’re dreaming!
Jordan destroyed his legacy. By continually disregarding the established protocols of the university and the Faculty Senate over the years, he caused the protest to erupt. He has only himself to blame for the whole mess.
JKF had already earned FOUR no-confidence votes. No way will she be appointed President again.
No, the protestors trashed Dr. Jordan’s legacy. The protestors and their supporters disregarded the presidential search process which conducted a fair and above-board process. Then, they disrespected and trashed the Board of Trustees and blackmailed them into rescinding JKF’s contract. Protestors think they “won.” HA. No, they didn’t win. The BoT simply decided to cut its losses and not risk further embarrassment and damage to Gallaudet’s reputation. The behavior of the protestors is a disgrace to the image of deaf people.
Jordan improperly appointed Fernandes as the provost and awarded her tenure illegally without the permission of the Faculty Senate, resulting in two no-confidence votes against Fernandes. The PSC procedure was perceived to be flawed and non-transparent by the majority of Gallaudet stakeholders who opposed her presidential appointment, and this was echoed by Faculty Senate who promptly awarded her the third no-confidence vote. Later, Faculty Senate gave her the final no-confidence vote as well as one to Jordan. The protest arose as a consequence of his actions over the years, including an absence of shared governance. It is your prerogative to deny as much as you want, but these are the established facts.
You may be surprised that JKF can be raised again after what the world had seen how these lowlife barbarians did to her effigies, sorry, lady. You have to swallow with tail between your legs that these protesters were acting so trashy. Remember how Law of Karma can never fail. Law is law no matter what.
JKF has no chance of coming back as president.
Your comments remind me of a time when I was young, in 1976 or thereabouts, and I knew that Nixon had stepped down and I innocently asked why he couldn’t come back as President, only to have the adults laugh.
There are some things that just don’t happen.
The Law of Karma applies to ALL of us, my friend.
Don’t think that just because you didn’t engage in or support the protest, that sitting there spouting venom against those who did makes you immune to such law.
The Law of Karma expects each and every one of us to accept responsibility not merely for our actions, but for our words.
It might do some of us good to remember that.
Julie,
IKJ always is an opporuntist himself. Do you think that IKJ really write this email reply to you? Or he have to respond to his own constituency - KDES, MSSD and Gallaudet students as part of formal proceeding.
IKJ hardly bother to socialize with students beside any major events or go to the cafeteria and strike conversation with Gally students.
Over observing IKJ more than 25 years. IKJ is truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
IKJ and his wife fawned over Miss Whitestone, “Miss America” during her Gally campus visit. I witnessed the whole thing which really appalled me and other deaf people.
Didn’t you know that IKJ instructed the entire campus personnels to forbid any celebrities or very important person visiting the campus without notifying the Office of President first, ex. get the permission? That is very Orwellian-style rule!
IKJ usually brownosed me while I studied at Gallaudet until I called him indirectly on the VAX system “an apologist” from Lew Golan’s blantant criticism of Gally students’ low reading and writing skills, etc. He turned cold to me. Aha! i really don’t give any f**.
IKj shortchanged his students over years with his infamous “green” Introduction to Psychology” textbook(s) written by himself. IKj turned this textbook into self-instruction without having to master in ASL for the impatient students. IKJ dumb-downed his own students.
I really do not praise any individuals, who wrongly do someone else. I give the hell to my former social studies instructor after he wrote the letter of recommendation for college admission. The social studies instructor wrongly exploited other students. He hoped that I would be clammed up and pretended something did not happen.
I snubbed IKJ from the beginning of his Gallaudet presidency. I knew his true color as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. I criticized IKJ in the Buff and Blue article in subtle way. My fellow college mates vividly remembered me how much I personally mistrust IKJ.
IKJ’s speciality in his study was “experminetal psychology”. Dr. Francis Higgins surely rolled in his grave after learning how and what IKJ have done to the Gallaudet community. Who was Francis Higgins? His former Gally professor and mentor, who introduced IKj to the world of the deaf.
IKJ enriched himself at the expense of the Gallaudet University. We will find more and more and more what IKJ have done without us knowing anything in the first place. Let’s see and wait!
Were you smokin’ crack while blabbing for too long against IKJ as if you never made a mistake once in your life?
Robert,
Are you the Gallaudet University Alumni that you have observed for 25 years?
I attended Gallaudet off and on from 1984 to 1998. I was academically dismissed two times. Other time were finanical and personal reasons. I usually kept in touch with my fellow students, faculty members and other people on Gallaudet.
I personally witnessed the rise and fall of IKJ, I spent considerable time walking inside the old HMB building where IKJ’s office was right there. I never knew that IKJ was deaf himself. I saw him and Dr. Robert Williams chatted in voice without the use of sign language on daily basis.
After learning IKJ being deaf himself during the DPN protest. I said “What???”
I refused to attend the impromptu celebration of IKJ being the 8th Gally Prez at the Field House. My gut instincts told me something wrong with this person.
I already experienced the leadership of Dr. Jerry Lee and saw how much the difference in management style. Dr. Lee funded the university operations very well and made sure that everything was in tip-top shape.
I met Dr. Merrill several time during my elementary years at the WV School of the Deaf and before his retirement.
I observed and acquainted with three Gallaudet presidents over 38 years. I felt more comfortable with Dr. Merrill. I respected Dr. Lee in many ways for his management style,
The freedom of expression were very flourished under Dr. Merrill and Dr. Lee. They would not micromanged the departments and public opinion.
RLM
May I ask you something: What is wrong with a person choosing his/her own communication style wherever they go? MUST they use ASL (or other forms of sign language) on Gallaudet University campus? Must you REQUIRE that this person use ASL when he/she is the president of the campus?
I don’t see anything amiss with IKJ talking by voice with another professor on campus. Nowhere in Gallaudet University is there an iron-clad policy requiring all persons to be using ASL without voice on campus. If that was the case, there surely would be a discrimination case here because Gallaudet cannot discriminate based upon communication style due to the fact that Gallaudet receives Federal funds here.
Your response?
Susan Kinze is a total idiot for writing an article about IKJ’s departure which is very and very old news. What she is trying to prove? Numerous factual errors like chisling off Jordan’s name off the wall. Aha! That is the external foyer entrance of the Student Activity Center.
KInze tried to romanticize IKJ’s image as a victim of fallen hero. IKJ doesn’t deserve any drop of sympathy from anybody!
Yes, it’s idiotic for Susan K. to shine the light onto uncomfortable facts, right?
Sorry, but reality has a tendency to overcome slogans and wishful thinking for everybody. Just witness our current administration.
Hello? You actually think JKF will become the president after being fired by BoT? She had amply demonstrated the lack of leadership since the protest began last May. She’s not gonna be the president. Better accept the reality, lady.
Uh, she wasnt fired. How can she be fired from a position she never held?
Besides, how did she lack leadership when she wasnt in a leadership position? She was no longer provost and was not then an acting president.
She was terminated from her future position, i.e., fired. You can argue with the semantics, but it means the same thing.
As a provost after the appointment and later in a “presidential transistion” position, she pretty much stayed away instead of trying to work with the stakeholders constructively. Her “Not Deaf Enough” propaganda only alienated and divided Gallaudet Community even more.
Whatever, this is all in the past.
As long as misinformed people continue to perpetuate this mythology, those slanderous claims will never be in the past. Once again, I say it is the protestors who divided the community, not IKJ, the BoT, or JKF.
MZ,
BoT actually did not fire JK, the protesters twisted their arms or Gallaudet be boomed into pieces. JK was terminated by force from the kids who were stringed by the envious leaders.
Have a restful evening, lady.
BoT decided to terminate JKF’s presidential appointment after they finally listened to the majority of Gallaudet constituents and realized their mistake.
Have a good day, lady
It could also be said that the BoT folded under pressure from the protesters and didn’t stand up to defend their choice.
The image of anarchy and mob rule as well as governance by intimidation and peer pressure at Gallaudet is widespread in the wider hearing community. Is this a correct perspective? I know people who would say yes.
Who used the words, anarchy, terrorists, and mob? Fernandes.
Contrary to her assertions to the media, this had been a peaceful protest, except when the security guards and physical plant employees attacked the non-violent students. These assaults have been reported to the police who are still investigating the incidents.
Eventually the world will learn that Gallaudet was managed by indimidation by Jordan and Fernandes, violating the university protocol of shared governance.
Whew, there are different chaos among the deaf society now. Firing JKF is the protesters’ greatest mistake ever in the history.
There may be no solution except for having her back at Gallaudet but of course most protest leaders would refuse that just to continue feeling superior which does not pay in the end. Gallaudet may crash.
You say, without JKF, there’ll not be any solution at Gallaudet. I don’t think so. It’s the other way around if she was to become the 9th President.
She has done too much damage to the university when she repeatedly, along with IJK administration, played the deaf card and twisted the truth.
No deaf (or even some certain hearing) person, who truly understands the issues in our community, will do such a thing JKF did to hurt the image of the whole community, to a point that she further divided us, and the university, given her being in a position of power.
So far, Dr. Davila is on the right path and I hope he’ll put an end to the corrupted non-shared governance administration during IJK’s time.
What had happened is in the past. The past needs to die in peace. The argument will divide the D/deaf and this is not the goal we wanted in the first place.
When I worked at the NAD, they explained that I. King Jordan was very approachable and he talked with many who came up with him. It was true, I was able to approach and email him on several occasions and he responded to me. While his management style may be criticized by the protesters, my firsthand experience with him was positive. Do any of you share the same experience?
Shane,
IKJ is much like the Lemon Snickery character, who would be sadistic toward children and chummy with adults.
RLM
This reminds me a bit of something that a good friend of mine - a former college professor and Dean Emeritus of the School of Business at a large Midwestern university - once said to me…
“Management is not a popularity contest.”
If we apply this to IKJ and the Gallaudet presidency, I could see it being looked at from a number of different angles…
I agree with those who say that Jordan was a charismatic individual with a knack for interacting with people - I’ve experienced that personally myself. But charisma and popularity don’t always translate into an effective manager/leader. Was Jordan in fact demonstrative of this fact? I don’t know - I wasn’t part of the Gallaudet Community during his presidency and other than bits and pieces I would learn from various sources over the years, I never really knew much about his administrative skills until the protest broke out. It could very well be that while IKJ had good people skills which he put to effective use as an “ambassador” for Gallaudet, his management skills left something to be desired. That seems to be the story I’m getting over and over the last couple of months.
On the other hand, could it be that as an administrator in that management position, he had to make decisions that were not necessarily popular with the Gallaudet Community, but were essential as a part of his job? The harsh reality is…being an effective manager isn’t always about being the most well-liked guy in the office.
Being able to achieve that fine balance between being an effective manager and being well-liked by your organization and the people it serves can be a real challenge.
I guess the question we have to ask ourselves is how well did IKJ balance the two? Or was he an example of the scales tipping too much in one direction and not enough in the other?
I don’t know the answer here…but I do think about this quote - I had to remember it many a day when I was an Executive Director having to make some hard decisions myself and take actions that didn’t always endear me to my staff or to the community, but were essential to the best interests of the agency.
Don’t get me wrong…I’m not defending Jordan here. I don’t feel I have enough information to decide one way or the other.
I’m just throwing this out as food for thought. Are we ourselves willing to recognize the truth of this above statement and acknowledge that management isn’t always about doing the popular thing?
I am a manager - of a team of all hearing employees. I am often the bearer of bad news, high work expectations, criticism, and what not. It is not always a fun job. I have had to fire people. I’ve had to deal with disgruntled employees. On the other hand, I’ve also had the opportunity to praise people, give them awards, help them thru problems, see them succeed. I was once told I was one of the strictest managers in the office - but my team has the highest output and people are constantly asking to be assigned to my team. Or they leave and then ask to come back! I am the first to say it is not always an easy job and there are times when I wish I wasn’t a manager. It is stressful and you certainly can’t please all the people all the time.
Shane, yes, As a charismatic person, Jordan definitely has a knack with people. I’ve always enjoyed chatting with him in the past.
“Eventually the world will learn that Gallaudet was managed by indimidation by Jordan and Fernandes, violating the university protocol of shared governance.”
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is / To have a thankless child!
I would be interested in knowing the definition of shared governance. Because I would wager that each one of us defines that term differently.
In large institutions like Gallaudet, the management style is always top-down. And it’s done in that manner because it’s the most effective way to do things. I think that the protestors in a sense, showed that IKJ and JKF were not engaged enough in governing the university. They allowed things to get out of hand, and that shouldn’t have happened. And in hindsight, I do see some legitimate concerns that the protestors raised and those should be investigated fully.
But overall, I would lie IKJ’s downfall mainly on the protestors’ feet. IKJ could’ve handled this better, but the protestors could have infinitely done this better as well.
~ Deaf Pundit
You know, I was going to write something about shared governance since it is clear that MishkaZ and I have very different views on shared governance in universities.
The one definition that I found, where else, but Wiki, says that shared governance is done between university faculty and the administration and that is essential. But the Wiki points out that the role of student involvement is not overly detailed.
This is where I part ways with MishkaZ and the other student protesters. I don’t necessarily agree with the statement that students have a right to determine the future of any university. In fact, that’s not a common approach.
Why should it be a common approach? Students are consumers of what the university is offering and are, theoretically, there only for a limited amount of time, i.e., four years. Why should limited time consumers have a say in university governance?
That’s setting aside the fact that Gallaudet plays a large role in the Deaf community both as a social educator as well as an academic educator. Many Deaf families have attended Gallaudet and many expect to. This sense of entitlement, in large part, is why the students think that they have a role in the “say” of university governance.
Congress and the outside public, John Q. Public, may think otherwise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S....._Education
I was referring to the shared governance with the faculty members.
Have anyone seen Ron Fencile’s “Save the University’ website? You would be horrifed about the latest installation of ………. by IKJ.
RLM
Reading over all these responses, I admit I am still somewhat surprised that nobody has brought up any of the specifics that Jordan has garnered for the good of Gallaudet during his 18+year tenure. Are they automatically canceled out by the mistakes that he may have made in regards to the protestors?
“The evil men do lives after them. The good is oft interred in their bones. So be it with Caesar.”
Shakespeare.
Julie…
With all due respect, how can Jordan’s accomplishments be applauded when, ON HIS OWN WATCH, Gallaudet’s graduation rates have PLUMMETED? Should we be applauding him for that accomplishment?
I think he failed Gallaudet University big time with that end result. Disturbingly, he pretty much got off scot-free as he retired and doesn’t have to answer to Congress or the Federal Government on how he squandered their educational funds as the Feds gave Gallaudet University a poor rating.
Wouldn’t you agree or are you going to “ignore” the poor performance his institution turned in (and Davila must defend/fix when he had nothing to do with it). I think the govt should have punished Fernandes and Jordan somehow financially for this huge debacle, no question about it.
Excellent points. As I haven’t been affiliated with Gallaudet since MSSD in 1995, I really am not in a good position to judge Jordan. As John Stuart Mills put it, the truth can be found on both sides of the coin- and that’s what I’m trying to do here; see what the other side has to say.
You never know what will happen. If the investigation is done appropriately, and IKJ and JKF are found accountable for what happened, then maybe they will pay somehow.
But this is politics. People often get away with crap if people don’t complain immediately about what happened and follow through with it. *shrugs*
~ Deaf Pundit
Julie,
Why not list all IJK’s specific accomplishments??
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLM,
I think it would be much easier for you to do that, as you’re much, much more familiar with his accomplishments.
I received the current edition of Gallaudet Today magazine this week. It’s full of information about IKJ’s accomplishments, as well as the usual items about alumni and students.
Aquafina, you mentioned plummeting enrollment on IKJ’s watch. I’m wondering if you’ve thought that some of the reasons may be outside his control? As an example — the passage of ADA in 1992 or thereabout. Students who might have gone to Gallaudet started going to other universities because they could get services. ADA probably also affected K-12 schools to some extent. The “full inclusion” philosophy in special education (aka mainstreaming) has made significant inroads on enrollment at state schools for the deaf. Finally, there’s the end of the “rubella bulge” which means a big drop in the overall population of deaf people. I’m NOT saying that Gallaudet doesn’t have issues relating to academic rigor and enrollment standards. Just that there are other factors that could contribute to “plummeting” enrollment.
How do you know it’s because some are going to the other universities? It could be that more and more deaf children have fallen through the crack and do not qualify to be a college material?
The problem here is the lack of documentations on all deaf children and where they’re enrolled. We need to keep record of that and form a statistic based on the information we gather, including those dumped at deaf schools.
I know a quite few deaf who have gone to other universities, not Gallaudet. And I’ve been told that after the protests, the local deaf community’s interest in going to Gallaudet has drastically reduced. *shrugs*
Katherine, you can probably find lots of data at the Gallaudet Research Institute (GRI) web site, here:
http://gri.gallaudet.edu/Demographics/
My favorite links are the annual surveys, and the answer to your question about college students can probably be found in the postsecondary students section.
Deaf Pundit:
I do believe there are some who go to other universities. The interest in enrolling Gallaudet may have decreased by some after the protest, but I think with the right kind of leadership — Dr. Davila and the one appointed after him — it will change in Gallaudet’s favor.
Curious Eyes:
Thanks for the link! Whenever I get a chance, I’ll take a look at it.
sure thing, Katherine. The paper by Thomas Allen at GRI about college students is kinda old (1994), but it’s rather shocking that the trends we’re all concerned about had started so long ago. (And no, it didn’t have anything to do about IKJ’s job performance.) I seem to recall reading a more recent article on this kind of info, and will look it up for you.
Curious Eyes:
I never talked about plummeting enrollement in my response to Julie’s posting; I did talk about plummeting GRADUATION RATES though. I wish you would read my response MORE carefully before responding.
I invite you to re-read my response to Julie’s posting to verify my comments.
errrr…”enrollement” should be “enrollment”. Whatever happened to the edit link? Sigh.
Aquafina: duh! you’re right. sorry about that.