Mishka Zena

Endless Pondering

Gallaudet Board Should Stand Firm

I sent them the factual sheet why Fernandes should resign. I think that will open their eyes, don’t you think?  Here is their e mail address:  info@goacta.org   let them know the real issues and please use facts only. elizabeth

ACTA: Gallaudet Board Should Stand Firm

Statement from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Anne D. Neal, 202-467-6787

GALLAUDET BOARD SHOULD STAND FIRM

WASHINGTON, DC (October 27, 2006)—As the Gallaudet University Board of
Trustees prepares to meet this Sunday, the American Council of Trustees
and Alumni urged the trustees to stand firmly behind their selection of
Jane K. Fernandes as the next president. For months, Gallaudet has been
engulfed in controversy over the selection of Fernandes, currently the
provost, who is due to assume the position in January.

“Gallaudet’s trustees engaged in an inclusive and thoughtful selection
process and concluded Dr. Fernandes was the best candi date to lead
Gallaudet into the future,” said ACTA president Anne D. Neal. “They
should not give in to unlawful protesters who have their own
agendas—rather than the school’s—in mind.”

Fernandes’ appointment was announced on May 1; protests began then and
resumed this month. Earlier this week, protesters seized two buildings
and blocked access to the campus. The faculty has also issued votes of
no confidence in Fernandes, the current president, and the board.
According to numerous media accounts, the protests began amid complaints
that Fernandes is not “deaf enough” because she learned American Sign
Language only in her twenties.

“Not everyone always agrees with the result of a presidential search,”
Neal noted. “But disagreement does not mean the board was wrong.”

“At a time when higher education is facing many challenges, it is the
board’s obligation to identify a leader who can address the long-term
goals of the school,” she concluded. “The Gallaudet board has made its
choice and is accountable for the results. The trustees should affirm
their choice—and the protesters should allow Fernandes do her job.”

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni is a nonpartisan, nonprofit,
national organization dedicated to academic freedom, academic quality,
and accountability. ACTA has a network of trustees and alumni around the
country and has issued numerous reports on higher education, including
How Many Ward Churchills?, Intellectual Diversity: Time for Action, The
Hollow Core, and Losing America’s Memory: Historical Illiteracy in the
21st Century. For further information, contact ACTA at (202) 467-6787.

###

Click here to see all updates related to the situation on campus.

Posted: 28 Oct 2006

elizabeth gillespie’s e-mail contact: mishkazena@aol.com

October 29, 2006 - Posted by Mishka Zena | Uncategorized | | 1 Comment

1 Comment »

  1. Here’s the email I sent to ACTA ..

    Hello ..

    I have been a journalist in the deaf community for 15 years and was editor of two national newspapers for the deaf.

    Your press release is based on misinformation. There are numerous reasons the deaf community (not just Gallaudet students) do not want Jane Fernandes as president.

    NONE of the reasons include “not deaf enough.” This is something Jane and her advisors have come up with to try and put the best spin on the story and make themselves look good.

    I ask you, if this “not deaf enough” thing were true, why did Gallaudet accept and embrace King Jordan for so many years? He became deaf as a young adult and didn’t learn sign language until he attended Gallaudet as a student. Not only was he not rejected, he became president of the school!

    The protest is about the shady way Jane got the job in the first place, her dismal track record at Gallaudet for 11 years and her total lack of qualities to be a college president.

    The Gallaudet administration has been spending tons of money on public relations firms to try and convince the world that they are right. You are very gullible to believe their point of view.

    This situation is just like women’s suffrage in the 1920s and Black Americans’ fight against discrimination in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a civil rights movement and you need to educate yourself on all the issues and not just swallow the administration’s point of view hook, line and sinker.

    Thank you.

    Tom Willard
    Editor, Deafweekly
    http://www.deafweekly.com
    Rochester, NY

    Comment by Tom Willard | October 29, 2006 | Reply


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