Gallaudet Chooses an Interim President

[Harold F. Schiffman]

December 10, 2006

Gallaudet Chooses an Interim President

Gallaudet University's Board of Trustees named Robert R. Davila, a
national leader in deaf education, on Sunday as interim president of the
institution. Mr. Davila, who is deaf, is an alumnus and a former professor
and administrator at Gallaudet, the nations only liberal-arts university
for the deaf and hard of hearing. He also served as vice president of the
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, one of seven colleges of the
Rochester Institute of Technology, from 1996 to 2004, and was assistant
secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
in the Department of Education under President George H.W. Bush.

Mr. Davila officially starts work at Gallaudet on January 2 and will serve
at least 18 months, as the university seeks a permanent replacement for
its retiring president, I. King Jordan. In remarks at a news conference
announcing his selection, Mr. Davila acknowledged the fierce protests on
Gallaudets campus over the boards original choice for president, Jane K.
Fernandes, a former provost. (Trustees rescinded that appointment in
October.) He proposed a number of changes that he said would allow
students and faculty and staff members to voice concerns and seek
campuswide solutions, including establishing a university council, naming
an ombudsman, and putting in place an e-mail hot line.

We need to make people feel that when they speak on campus, they will be
heard, he said.

Mr. Davila said he also would work with off-campus groups, including
alumni, accreditors, and public officials, to repair Gallaudets
reputation. Last week, the universitys accreditor, the Middle States
Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Higher Education,
announced that it had delayed a decision on accreditation because of
concerns about governance and the general climate at Gallaudet. In
addition, a 2005 report by the federal Office of Management and Budget
described the university as ineffective in a number of areas.

http://chronicle.com/news/index.php?id=1390

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