From: president@gallaudet.edu [mailto:president@gallaudet.edu]

Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 5:18 PM
To: president@gallaudet.edu
Subject: Weekly Message to the Community

Office of the President
COLLEGE HALL
800 FLORIDA AVE. NE
WASHINGTON , DC 20002-3695

Dear Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni and Friends of Gallaudet University:

The first week flew by! My first week began with meetings with the President’s Office staff and campus administrators. It ended with a live interview on CNN television. Truthfully, I am so energized by this opportunity to lead our university, it is hard to tell when and where the day begins and ends with early mornings and late nights. I hope my staff has been taking their vitamins.

I will use these occasional letters, along with video blogs, to keep you informed. I will also be meeting with many of you in the coming days through other forums and venues. Stay tuned. This week, I asked two experiened Gallaudet faculty to assist me as Special Assistants to the
President. Dr. Jay Innes will help me organize my administrative team, coordinate our ambitious agenda and provide leadership in other critical areas. Dr. Richard Lytle will help me develop plans to energize and bring our community together to understand the challenges ahead and work together for a better Gallaudet. Both of these gentlemen will provide me and Gallaudet with important leadership in a variety of areas in the coming days and months.

This first week I have met with a number of people on and off campus and via video. My meetings and work this week have focused on:

• Getting to know people and understand the issues at Gallaudet
• Preparing for the MSA team meeting January 10 – 12.
• Reaching out to our friends off campus
• Meetings to promote the diversity of people and ideas at Gallaudet University

My agenda for week two includes:

• Meet with the MSA team
• Meet with members of the Board of Trustees
• Review recommendations for my administrative team
• Plan for the return of students and faculty

In my earlier messages I talked about a theme of working together. I want to expand on that theme as we put together “Team Gallaudet.” I expect everyone to have an opportunity to be a part of the process of healing and working together for a better Gallaudet. I am committed to making sure that students and faculty are the main focus of our work together. Nothing is more important than insuring that our students receive the very best education possible.

Thank you for the ideas and the messages of support and encouragement so many of you have shared with me this past week. Now, on to week number two!

Warmest regards,
Dr. Bob Davila
President

(thought this might interest you. I am kinda annoyed by these bland sort of replies politicians give but probably it is the best that they can do. I trust that while Feinstein may not really be processing this some administrative assistant of hers is keeping track both of the issue and the fact that some people are writing about it. ~Tina Jo)

January 4, 2007

Dear Ms. Breindel:

Thank you for writing to me regarding the recent protests at Gallaudet University. I value your correspondence and welcome this opportunity to respond.

Congress established Gallaudet University in 1864 and the Federal government continues to support this important institution through the annual appropriations process. The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act of 2006, for example, set aside $108 million for Gallaudet University and the elementary and secondary schools that operate on campus.

I am familiar with the recent protests and have carefully followed the events on the Gallaudet campus. On Sunday, October 29, 2006, the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees voted to terminate Dr. Fernandes’ appointment as President. They also called for an end to the protests and encouraged a time of healing. I appreciate receiving your comments of concern and will continue to follow the situation. Should you have any further questions or comments regarding the protests, I would recommend that you also contact the Interim Chair of the Board of Trustees. Contact information is as follows:

Celia May Baldwin
Interim Chair
Gallaudet University Board of Trustees
Office of the President
College Hall, Room 216
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
http://bot.gallaudet.edu/

Again, thank you for taking the time to write to me. Please know that I will continue to do all I can at the Federal level to improve education for all Americans. If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841.

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
http://feinstein.senate.gov

Rene Visco alerted me of the vlog produced by Ryan Commerson. It is AWESOME! Let’s tune in!

http://signcasts.com/node/88

Unity, Diversity, and Social Justice:
The Gallaudet Protest

A Presentation by Leah Katz-Hernandez,
One of Gallaudet Student Leaders

Monday, December 11, 2006, 7:00 PM at the Multipurpose Room of National Center on Deafness at CSUN.

An interactive session focusing on the following issues:

· Empowerment vis-a-vis Paternalism

· Self-representation & Self-determination

· Unity & Solidarity

· Shared Decision Making

· Civil Rights & Social Justice

· ISMs: Audism & Racism

Everyone is welcome. The discussion will be in ASL and interpreted into spoken English.

Sponsored by: CSUN Deaf Studies Department, National Center on Deafness and Women’s Resource and Research Center

http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/localviews/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion
_D_op_20_deaf_loc.33ad200.html

10:00 PM PST on Sunday, November 19, 2006

By Tina Jo Breindel

I am responding to the commentary, “Not deaf enough” (Nov. 13). Writer
Cathy Young presents a version of the recent protests at Gallaudet
University in which radicals used disability as a weapon to silence
critics. She seems to say that this so-called “radical deaf activism” is
not representative of the deaf community.

The Press-Enterprise generally provides clear, well-sourced and
insightful coverage of the deaf community and its institutions. Thus, I
am disappointed to find such a poorly reported, ideologically driven
commentary on your pages.

Young grossly misrepresents the deaf community and the Gallaudet
protests.

As a member of the deaf community, I believe that the Gallaudet protests
were about organizing to represent our own interests. Protesters were
not a “small bunch of radicals” but rather a wide-ranging group of
faculty, staff members, students, alumni and parents. Eighty-three
percent of the faculty, a group that generally supports the status quo,
voted no confidence in the existing Gallaudet administration.

The events at Gallaudet were a phenomenal movement of democracy working
from the grass roots, fixing what nearly everyone realized was a
significant mistake: appointing Jane K. Fernandes as the ninth president
of Gallaudet.

Young should celebrate the fact that in America all of us have the
freedom to organize, petition and obtain redress for our grievances.
What those who supported the protest wanted was to see the right person,
a leader we can trust, at the helm of Gallaudet. Gallaudet is not just a
campus in Washington. It is an important spot for deaf people throughout
the world.

It provides educational opportunities for our children but also acts as
a representative for many aspects of American deaf culture. It is the
Mecca of the deaf community.

Opinion pieces such as Young’s lead people without full knowledge of the
situation to draw unfortunate conclusions about Gallaudet. This is
unnecessary because good reporting and thoughtful commentary are
available on this issue.

It is important to praise those who stood up for our rights and freedom,
not label them as a small group of radicals. The Gallaudet protests
blazed a trail for deaf America. We should thank our deaf friends, who
cared enough about their university and its culture to take action to
save it.

Friday, December 22, 2006 from 7 p.m. to 12 midnight

Hilton Hotel

7050 Johnson Drive

Pleasanton, CA 94588

Check it out! Tickets LIMITED! http://www.dcara.org/gala/

November 13, 2006

MEMORANDUM

TO:     The Gallaudet Community

FR:      Pamela Holmes, Chair, Gallaudet University Board of Trustees

RE:      Selecting an Interim President

The Gallaudet University Board of Trustees has begun the process of
identifying an interim president to begin service on January 1, 2007.
Following a full day of meetings with key constituency groups,
including students, faculty, alumni, and staff, the Board met in
executive session to establish the process set forth in this
memorandum.

The Board expects to appoint an interim president with the following
characteristics:
Possession of a terminal degree
Higher education knowledge, experience and credentials
Shared vision: An inclusive, academically excellent university
Proven leadership ability
Knowledge of fundraising and congressional relations
Ability to lead efforts to enhance respect for diversity
Ability to bridge different constituencies
Budget/fiscal management experience
Fluency in American Sign Language and knowledge of deaf culture
Highest standards of integrity and ethics
Support for K-12 education and LCC national mission efforts

Read the rest of this entry »

Friday, November 3, 2006 offered a sense of unity where we showed the enthusiasm for change and growth for the community of Gallaudet University and CSDR! We need to remember we have come this far to unify what we created together: Riverside for FSSA. Quite an experience of unifying that anchors us to this evening. The experience of unification and how it anchors us has given us the strength, courage and perseverance to continue advocating for our beliefs.

The following are the testimonies of speakers who were at the core of the Gallaudet protest, and the kick off of a live feed with Joe Dannis of DawnSignPress.

While at Gallaudet, Joe shared his experience doing interviews. In an interview with one of student leaders, “We won the battle, but not the war. Faculty and staff members shared they are still nervous about specific people who remain in power.” Questions just lingered on such as what will the BoTs try to do now and during Jordan’s remaining days until December when he retires. Some have called for Jordan to leave now. It is like a wounded animal that needs to be caged.

Many unresolved issues were buried under Jordan’s administration during the last ten years at Gallaudet. Issues kept within the walls need to be brought out into the open. It has been debated among us to reach a consensus for the sake of unity for Gallaudet in a non-violent and peaceful way just like how we succeeded at CSDR. Joe stressed that we cannot afford to be divisive at this defining moment.

As our FSSA representative for Riverside, Scarlett Valencia spoke for CSDR Superintendent Mal Grossinger who had to leave for a CSDR football game. Mal wanted to share a thought, “It is inspiring to see how the Deaf community pulled together during a very critical time and how supportive the Riverside for FSSA has been for the very community of CSDR.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Lubna Takruri, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — After a sleepless night protesting at Gallaudet University, student government leader Christopher Corrigan was ready to crawl into a tent near a campus gate at 7:45 a.m. Then he felt the familiar buzz on his Sidekick wireless handheld computer.

The message: “Emergency.”

Within minutes, Corrigan and others had joined their friends at another gate, where protesters say campus security officers were removing their belongings with construction equipment, among other things.

“As soon as it happened, people were paging, ‘hey, we need help,’” Corrigan signed through an interpreter, describing last month’s incidents.
Many protests that begin heatedly lose momentum and fizzle out. But student activists at the nation’s only university for the deaf and hearing impaired surprised school administrators with their tenacity and organization. Their demonstrations led to the ouster of incoming President Jane K. Fernandes — whom students and faculty said was autocratic and unable to tackle the school’s long-term problems during her years as provost. Read the rest of this entry »

A message from Dr. Brenda Jo Brueggemann:

“I am resigning from the position of Chair of the Board of Trustees at Gallaudet University, effective immediately. I do not believe I can be the most effective member of the Board to lead Gallaudet through the next steps.

Since I became Acting Chair in May 2006, my personal life, and my professional work as a scholar, teacher, and administrator at my own university, have suffered considerably. I can no longer justify these personal and professional costs.

I continue to believe in the mission and vision of Gallaudet University as it is currently expressed and will continue to work, as best I can as a scholar of Deaf Studies and a hard-of-hearing person, to insure that the eight strategic goals that currently guide Gallaudet University are being further developed and implemented.”