Davila: Ninth President of Gallaudet
Press Release
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007
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Board of Trustees
COLLEGE HALL
800 FLORIDA AVE. NE
WASHINGTON, DC 20002-3695
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March 21, 2007
Â
Dear Campus Community,
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It is with great pleasure that I invite you to join me and other members of the Board of Trustees at the installation of Dr. Robert R. Davila as Gallaudet’s ninth president on Wednesday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m. in the Field House.
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I hope you plan to attend this historic event that will celebrate President Davila’s leadership of our beloved Gallaudet. I look forward to seeing you in May. The installation will be followed by a reception.
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Sincerely,
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Pam Holmes
Chair
Commentary: Many of us are puzzled by this memo since the word Interim isn’t mentioned at all. However, from talking to several inside sources, Davila had expressed a desire to see the Interim dropped from his title so he can exert real changes. MZ
email contact: mishkazena@aol.com
Mishkazena (TM) 2007
Press Release
Â
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Â
Board of Trustees
COLLEGE HALL
800 FLORIDA AVE. NE
WASHINGTON, DC 20002-3695
Â
March 21, 2007
Â
Dear Campus Community,
Â
It is with great pleasure that I invite you to join me and other members of the Board of Trustees at the installation of Dr. Robert R. Davila as Gallaudet’s ninth president on Wednesday, May 9 at 3:30 p.m. in the Field House.
Â
I hope you plan to attend this historic event that will celebrate President Davila’s leadership of our beloved Gallaudet. I look forward to seeing you in May. The installation will be followed by a reception.
Â
Sincerely,
Â
Pam Holmes
Chair
Commentary: Many of us are puzzled by this memo since the word Interim isn’t mentioned at all. However, from talking to several inside sources, Davila had expressed a desire to see the Interim dropped from his title so he can exert real changes. MZ
email contact: mishkazena@aol.com
Mishkazena (TM) 2007
March 21st, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Well, that’s good — he really seems to be prepared to roll up his sleeves and do the communication work needed to make a real positive difference. His sensitivity to and awareness of the things that have even been floating about the blogosphere have impressed me. I hope things go well for him.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Holy cow! Look at the key word: “installation”!
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:13 am
Well, the BoT had to do something to alleviate the chaos at Gally. Simply making Davila permanent instead of going through a new Search process is probably the best thing. People upset about the Process can focus their energies on the New Provost.
But Gally having no real President and no Provost (and no permanent Chair of the BoT until somewhere Pam Holmes became Chair) was just unacceptable. It seems Jordan loved the Chaos as a way of ensuring everything turned out HIS way on his WAY too lengthy exit.
After DPN, the BoT didn’t reopen the Process, but simply appointed Jordan President. It resolved the conflict. Reopening the Process and keeping it up for six months? Nine months? A year? How is the university supposed to function?
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:34 am
Davila’s term is limited to one and 1/2 to two years.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:45 am
Underthehill, what’s the problem with the word, ‘installation’?
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:51 am
Until now, I was a supporter of Davila. But think about this:
1. I read on GallyNetL that Davila said that the protest was a mistake… During an interview recently.
That makes him an arsehole in my book.
2. The reason why the protest started in the first place was the process was flawed, and the BOT walked all over us. Then it lead to other issues.
Now, the BOT is playing games once again. I honestly suspect that they hired him with full intentions of making him a permanent president. But, they announced it as “interim” to cool people off and to prevent another protest. Honestly, I think that’s the game here.
Only time will tell.
BUT, IT IS IN EXCUSABLE that Davila publicly announced that the protest was a mistake. Granted, he is allowed to have his own opinion, and he has the right to feel whatever he wants to. BUT, he just screwed all of us in the ass by making that comment.
So, right now, he’s an arsehole, and deserves to lose his job for that comment.
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:52 am
Hearing colleges have same problem so they install prez, no questions asked to alleviate any potential problems and move forward to give Trustees’ attention to head-hunting.
After all Davila agreed to 18-24 months, just like many hearing colleges.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:01 am
Interesting. I think he doesn’t like title “interm.” He wanted look more formal title “president.” But is it limited to two years? Or permanent for a few years? I am wondering.
Thanks!
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:01 am
Oops! Interm is error spelling. Should be interim.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:39 am
Hmmm… I looked up in the internet for the meanings of interim and most stress on “temporary”. Common sense, for presidents who happen to be disabled from carrying out the duties, vice presidents automatically achieve the presidents’ posts. But for universities and colleges… I understand that the interim presidents/deans/officials are just temporary, carrying out the official duties UNTIL the permanent presidents/deans/officials are selected with the approval, going through the normal process of selection of the pres/deans/officials.
Is there something that we are missing? Is there a line in BoT’s policies/constitution/whathaveyou that gives BoT power to elevate the interim dean to the permanent dean OR is it common practice nowadays?
Mishka, can you give us some idea of BoT’s bylaws… is there fine print in the bylaws that says it can be done?
If there is no bylaws saying that BoT could elevate the interim pres, but says have to go through the normal process of the selection, then BoT still abuses power.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:06 am
Interesting no word of “interim” and no mention that installation of President Davila on May 9th at 9:30am is open to everyone.
My question is:
Is it open to public or inviation only?
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:45 am
Deaf Niches, the BOT has full power to put whomever they please in the position of president. This was discussed during the protest and I’m surprised it’s been forgotten so quickly. Good politics says the BOT should consult with the community before selecting a president, but they are not required to. See section 2.1 of the Bylaws: One duty is explicitly stated as “Elect a President and a Treasurer of the University.” Note it doesn’t say ask people first, get the student vote, or any other form of shared governance. The Board and the Board alone is the one who determines who becomes president and for how long.
I find it curious people are not up in arms about this. Seems with Davila, he gets a pass with the community, no questions asked…
Ecky, Gallynet-L is a piece of trash. I wouldn’t take anything coming off that as worth a grain of salt. That forum serves to destroy, not build up, not contribute…destroy. Feel free to disagree. It’s what makes the world go round.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:13 am
I was and baffled when Davila named himself as the 9th president of Gallaudet University. “Interim” president should not be considered as 9th president until the Board of the Trustees appoint a new person to run Gallaudet next year or so. That new person should be the 9th president.In my own opinion the meaning of the term , interim, is acting. In other words Davila is the “acting” president until the new 9th president of Gallaudet runs.
It does not make sense to me to name Davila as 9th president of Gallaudet.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:21 am
Becky, yes, he said that. At an earlier interview he said he supports the student’s right to protest, then in another interview later, he said the protest was a mistake.
Deb, it should be open to public.
Deaf Niches, the BoT has the full authority to make executive decisions without input from the community. This resulted in both DPN and UfG protests. Bylaws can be amended by BoT, like when they extended the term of Ken Levinson was extended for the forth times, in a violation of the original bylaw permitting no more than three terms.
Cyan, I was surprised to see the word Interim eliminated, but others said the omission of Interim from the memo doesn’t necessarily to indicate a permanent position because even an interim term is still a presidential term. Hopefully BoT had already learned that it cannot afford to antagonize stakeholders again, especially after MSA’s statement about another protest being detrimental to Gallaudet’s accreditation. My reservation is apparently the short term memory of the stakeholders regarding the previous actions of BoT. It will serve us well to remember history of it lack of transparancy and democratic collaboration, unpleasant as it may be.
I second Cyan about the credibility of GallyNet. We have no way of measuring how reliable the posts are, especially from anonymous writers. In other words, read them with a skeptical eye. In the last few weeks, some Gallynet subscribers indicated to me they discontinued reading GallyNet due to its lack of credibility.
Sandra, a good point. I am not familiar with executive protocols. Dr Zinser was recognized as the seventh president, even her term of one week was firmly rejected by Gallaudet stakeholders. Personally I feel it is wise for BoT to reiterate the interim position, while recognizing him as the ninth president, to alleviate the concerns of some stakeholders who remember too well the dereliction of BoT’s duties.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:53 am
Okay, what kind of “real” changes does Davilia want to incorporate into Gallaudet community? The dictionary states that interim official could carry out “official” duties, meaning Davilia could put “real” changes NOW, while he is interim.
What are his goals, again, if any of you readers don’t mind explaining?
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:07 am
Can’t help but wonder whether Davila will turn out to be a “permanent-interim” President. Guess it will depend on how well, or poorly, he does over the next two years.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:37 am
Dr. Lee was an interim president and he was recognized as our 6th president. It’s no different with Dr. Davila being an interim president and recognized as our 9th president.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:39 am
Also, the new search for the 10th president should commence as soon as the new members are appointed to the board of trustees. It makes no sense to start a search now when 6-7 members of the board end their respective terms in a few months.
The main points of focus right now are the MSA and the new provost.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:51 am
ML, Lee accepted the position with the understanding it’s for five years only. That is a long time for the position to be called an ‘interim’ position, in my opinion.
Yes, the top priorities are MSA and nominations for BoT.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:58 am
Hey, Dr. Lee was an interim president before he was appointed as 6th president.
Interim means taking place of the actual president. I assume that Davila took over Dr. Jordan for the time being.
Dr. Zinser never took an oath yet called her the Gallaudet president for only five days.
Hey again, When Jane Fernandes was chosen, then she should be called 9th president. Her contract was expired. Davila replaced her as interim president. Whoever will run Gallaudet should be 10th president????? If this is not the case, then we have to go back to the past…Zinser should not be 7th president because she did not take an oath. Then Jordan was 7th president…
Boy, I make all of you confused.
Sorry!
I still do not see any sense in any way.
Jane Fernandes should be called as 9th president
after Board of the Trustees appointed her.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:17 pm
That’s right. Sandra. Dr Lee was granted the Interim position after Dr. Lloyd was terminated for improper conduct, then awarded the sixth president position. BoT wanted him to be permanent, but Dr Lee was willing to commit himself for only five years.
At that time when Zinser was appointed, there was no President as Dr Lee had already resigned and she was to start in three months. In the light of the protest with no leadership, she decided to move up the three months and took the reins of the presidency for few days until she resigned.
Since Dr Jordan’s resignation was effective in Dec., Dr Fernandes’ term never started because her contract was terminated while Dr Jordan was still the president.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:34 pm
I might be willing to extend Davila more slack because I like the way he comes across and his respect for keeping lines of communication open, but I think his use of the word “mistake” is probably quite nuanced.
“I can see why they did it but I regret some of the outcomes.” “The way the previous choice was nmade was wrong, but I wish the students had been able to choose another way of doing it instead of a protest.” “I do not agree with the students in any way and think they were entirely in the wrong.”
ALL of these things can be said as “The protest was a mistake.”
Again, I might be cutting him too much slack, but I’m prepared to believe that his use of the word is more along the lines of the first or second impressions, and not the third.
Davila seems to be doing what Jordan refuses to do — not take things personally, remember at all times that he is an administrator and must act the part. Jordan is acting like a spioled kid who has to get in the last word; he plainly values getting in the last word over the social health of the university, which is alarming. Davila seems MUCH, MUCH more in control of himself and mature. Again, maybe I’m cutting him too much slack, but I’d really take a wait-and-see approach with him. He’s got amazing potential; I’ve NEVER seen a university president actually participating in a weekly v/blog and hosting talks where issues of immediate concern to the student body are addressed then and there. Never. That’s entirely unique in my experience. However he may phrase his opinion of the protest, he plainly is willing to keep communication lines open enough that another protest will not even be necessary. *crosses fingers*
Come on, Bob. Earn my confidence …
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Elizabeth, you’re correct on all aspects in your post (#21) with the exception of the length of Dr. Lee’s tenure. He was president for three years (1984-1987), not five.
In fact, Dr. Lee was willing to commit for only 12 to 18 months, but like you said, the board wanted him to stay longer. He did stay longer than he intended to.
Another interesting aspect about Dr. Lee was that he left Gallaudet to become a VP at Bassett Furniture, a company that was owned by (BoT chair) Jane Spilman’s husband. It’s kind of odd to see how the board wanted him to stay, yet he left to work for the BoT chair’s husband, isn’t it?
I’m going off on a tangent here, but since I don’t recall this being mentioned during the recent protest, I would like to mention that I also thought it was interesting that in search of Dr. Lee’s replacement, there was a deadline for applications in October 1987, and the board whittled the pool down to 6 candidates by mid-January 1988. We all know that the final selection was made in March 1988, so it took them at least 4 months to pare down the candidates (and six weeks to make the appointment from a pool of 6 semifinalists) before making the infamous announcement of Dr. Zinser as the 7th president. In contrast, the recent search process saw applications sent in by March 31 and the announcement made on May 1, a duration of only 31 days.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Janis, many felt he made the second statement as a political move to appease the critics outside. Unfortunately the students had to choose that venue as they have already used up all other options but were steadfastly ignored.
ML, I had to recall the exact years, and I was off by two years, like you said.
I never got over the irony of Spillman luring Lee away from Gallaudet, but he was more than ready to leave.
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
My reason on this word, “installation” in the Gallaudet press release is based on my presumption with the BoT being anxious to permanently “anoint” Davila to the post for few more years, extending the presidential search process for another year or so just to spite all those protested against them last year. Re-opening the search process demand was a real sore sticking point with the BoT, as they were loathed to go through the whole search/interview process all over again. The last year’s protests have delayed some of other plans for the university set forth by IKJ/BoT in the past. I would think the current BoT is very anxious to get into the other plans and businesses other than going through the search process once again this year, which I understand that it is a very lengthy, deeply inquisitive process with other candidates.
In a follow-up to ML’s comment about Bassett Furniture: most of the furniture (dorms and facilities) at Gallaudet in the late 1980s and early 1990s were from Bassett. Getting the furniture for Gallaudet at cheap, discount prices was a sweetheart deal. Hence Jane Spilman being the chair of the BoT at the time. *wink-wink*
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:13 pm
The BoT is playing us like violins.
Remember the protest being about an unfair presidential search. When did the new PSC pick Davila as our next pres.
Davila is simply another puppet for the Board.
Where did all the people who protested the search of JKF?