Gallaudet University News

UPDATE:
( from I. King Jordan, President, Gallaudet U.)

Dear Alumni,

I want to take this opportunity to let you know what's happening on campus and to ask your support. We all have an important role to play.

Last Friday, a group of dissenters occupied the Hall Memorial Building. Since then, Interim Provost Michael Moore, '68, Dean Carl Pramuk, '84, and Enrollment Services Executive Director Debby DeStefano, '77 & G-'79, have been meeting with the dissenters who have been in HMB to peacefully resolve the occupation. I appreciate their dedication and hard work.

I feel sure that many of you are as saddened as I am by the current discord on our campus. We are working to restore civility and mutual respect. We have continuously met in good faith with the dissenters, only to have the students' demands change.

We want to assure a positive educational experience in a safe environment for all of our campus community, but we cannot do that alone. It will take not only every student and member of the administration, faculty, and staff to come together, but also our alumni to restore trust and a sense of security to a badly shaken community.

I believe we all need to be part of the resolution. I feel compelled to set the record straight on a number of issues. The Board of Trustees and the administration have heard and considered the dissenters regarding the search and selection process. In fact, they met with students on a number of occasions during last week's board meeting. The dissenters are unwilling to accept the Board's selection of Dr. Fernandes.

We are committed to free speech, and so it is doubly painful to have some faculty, students, alumni and staff threaten and intimidate the rights of others to differ from the dissenters. Indeed some of their actions have been shameful. Nothing excuses their assault on me and the disrespect shown to my family last Thursday at what should have been a celebration for the entire campus. They have tried to impose their will on everyone at Gallaudet by taking over HMB. Those who have acted unlawfully must take responsibility for those actions and will face the consequences of their actions. And now they have phoned in a second bomb threat diverting critical police and fire resources from legitimate needs.

The dissenters have vandalized one of your alma mater's most cherished locations, College Hall. They have encouraged the harassment of board and administration members and their families by publishing the home and work numbers as well as other personal information, and then encouraged others to use that information to continuously disrupt their lives. They have disseminated misinformation and cried foul when the administration has tried to set the record straight. An example is their claim that a DPS officer assaulted students. The board has requested, and we will have, an outside investigator review this allegation. They have misrepresented the Board chair's support of Dr. Fernandes on a blog and falsely claimed that the Board did not meet with them. What the Board did not do is agree with them.

Despite these provocations, we have continued to look for common ground. Gallaudet University has a rich tradition of caring and community spirit. We want to invoke that sense of family to resolve the occupation of HMB.

Let us remind our students and colleagues in HMB that their actions hurt us all, not only on Gallaudet's campus, but around the world. We welcome dialogue, but cannot allow a group of dissenters to lock us out of one of our own buildings. They promised not to interfere with others' rights; however, they have broken that promise. I ask you to use your influence to support our efforts to address the issues confronting us and begin the healing process. It's important to me to keep our alumni informed of our University's efforts, so please check our homepage (www.gallaudet.edu) for up-to-date information and messages.

I. King Jordan
President

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

An open letter to the Gallaudet University community

The Indiana Association of the Deaf sends this letter in light of the ongoing, and escalating, Crisis at Gallaudet University.

The IAD Board of Directors was shocked, stunned, appalled and now outraged at recent events at Gallaudet, especially the arrests of Gallaudet's very own students on Friday, October 13, 2006 and the postponement of Gallaudet Homecoming. The Gallaudet Administration's handling of the protest further validated universal concerns about its integrity and leadership during the Crisis. Moreover, the apparent shirking of responsibilities by the Gallaudet Board of Trustees only worsened the Crisis.

We all know that the Crisis just didn't happen overnight. It has been simmering since the search for the next Gallaudet President began. We are amazed and dismayed at the lack of effort by the Gallaudet Board of Trustees and the Administration to engage diverse stakeholders in dialogue about the negative outcome of the President Search process. Those issues are a large elephant in the Gallaudet community, but obviously they continue to be not addressed as evident by the mushrooming of this C risis.

We continue to be amazed and dismayed by the shortsightness of Jane Fernandes who could not possibly have not noticed all the discord going on around and about her. A good leader, especially in where the governance of a University is concerned, should constantly monitor the pulse of the community that the University serves. One couldn't effectively govern with such discord of this magnitude.

Public opinion is the thermometer a monarch should constantly consult.”
- Napoleon Bonaparte

We all know the opinion of the Community regarding the Crisis is LOUD and CLEAR!

We are in agreement with the same opinion that two very simple acts - the resignation or removal of Jane Fernandes and no reprisals of those involved in the protest - will go a very long way (and the only way) in bringing the Crisis to a close and let the healing begin for the sake of Gallaudet students and the community that Gallaudet University serves.

The shining beacon of Gallaudet University, which is looked upon as the Mecca by Deaf and Hard of Hearing people all over the world, is slowly dimming. The IAD Board of Directors and the Indiana Deaf Community once again call for bold and swift action by the Gallaudet Board of Trustees in carrying out its responsibilities and perform those two simple acts before the beacon is tragically extinguished.

In Unity for Gallaudet, we are….

Greg Gannt
IAD Board

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