[EDLING:2157] Gallaudet Chooses an Interim President

[Francis M Hult]

Via lgpolicy...

> 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 (Trustees rescinded that appointment in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