Sorenson The Newest Gallaudet BoT Member
Commentary: I find it somewhat odd that Sorenson is appointed as the newest BoT member by Gallaudet, considering the long-standing tensions between the Deaf Community and Sorenson due its business practices. MZ
“Inside Gallaudet
Two new trustees join the board
Two new members of the Board of Trustees who were approved for appointment by the trustees at their May meeting but who were not named pending their acceptance have agreed to serve on the board. The new members are James Lee Sorenson, a nationally recognized business leader and entrepreneur, and Tiffany Williams-Granfors, a noted leader in international sports programs for deaf people and a Gallaudet alumna (’89). Their terms are effective immediately.
Sorenson brings many attributes to his position as a trustee. He currently serves as chairman of Sorenson Development, Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah. He is credited for helping develop technologies such as digital compression software, mass-market videophones, video relay services for deaf and hard of hearing people, electronic medical pain pumps, and environmental testing that have become industry standards. Sorenson’s other leadership responsibilities include The Sorenson Group, which owns and is developing over 60,000 acres of industrial, commercial, residential, and retail real estate, and Sorenson Capital, which has raised approximately $650 million to invest in small- to mid-size U.S. companies. He is also a major philanthropist, donating his time, expertise, and money to a wide range of civic and educational efforts. ” http://news.gallaudet.edu/?ID=13472
Commentary: I find it somewhat odd that Sorenson is appointed as the newest BoT member by Gallaudet, considering the long-standing tensions between the Deaf Community and Sorenson due its business practices. MZ
“Inside Gallaudet
Two new trustees join the board
Two new members of the Board of Trustees who were approved for appointment by the trustees at their May meeting but who were not named pending their acceptance have agreed to serve on the board. The new members are James Lee Sorenson, a nationally recognized business leader and entrepreneur, and Tiffany Williams-Granfors, a noted leader in international sports programs for deaf people and a Gallaudet alumna (’89). Their terms are effective immediately.
Sorenson brings many attributes to his position as a trustee. He currently serves as chairman of Sorenson Development, Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah. He is credited for helping develop technologies such as digital compression software, mass-market videophones, video relay services for deaf and hard of hearing people, electronic medical pain pumps, and environmental testing that have become industry standards. Sorenson’s other leadership responsibilities include The Sorenson Group, which owns and is developing over 60,000 acres of industrial, commercial, residential, and retail real estate, and Sorenson Capital, which has raised approximately $650 million to invest in small- to mid-size U.S. companies. He is also a major philanthropist, donating his time, expertise, and money to a wide range of civic and educational efforts. ” http://news.gallaudet.edu/?ID=13472
June 19th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
They probably want his money!
June 19th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Speaking of $$$. James Sorneson have $$$.
The Gally BOT still have their own detractors.
Are we going back to the incomptence Gally BOT for next presidential search?
I was told some kind of rumors about President Davila will leave the Gally presidency this August 2008.
RLM
June 19th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Benjamin Soukup is not really a big fan of James Sorenson due to the conflict interest in the VRS business years ago. Ben may have to be nice to him due to his money.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
What’s wrong with Sorenson’s business practices?
Also, what’s up with Gally’s prez search? No news on that lately!
June 19th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Mishka Z:
It really does concern me at this point of our campus of Gallaudet University of the following things going on:
Before Jordan left the campus, Sorenson donated a huge bundle of money with the instruction that the new building was to be built right near SAC area (I reject it being named IKJ SAC). The new SLCC (Sorenson) was built fast as possible. By the time Jordan left, plans were laid and approved. Davila made sure that SLCC got running on schedule while the rest of the entire campus is already falling apart in many places.
Believe it or not, the SLCC was in response to NTID’s building of the CSD building (an attachment of it on to the dining commons and Building 60). It looks more like a one-upmanship for who has the better “relay services named building already” (which Gallaudet wins at this point).
Second, Sorenson being named on to the BOTs shouldn’t have happened. Especially when there is a LOT of tension in the community about the sorenson VRS product.
Third: For RLM: My understanding is that the BOTS have put Davila under a contract until December 2009.
Fourth: I doubt the BOTs want to do a presidental search process yet. They’re waiting for the full and clear “Certification” to happen and then do it (which is my thinking). But at this point, will the BOTS do a good job of finding some who NOT related to Davila or Jordan? That’s the biggest issue of all.
June 19th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Well, there goes the pitch for ASL being given equal space in SLCC.
June 19th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
If Dr. Davila will died of natural causes before the Gally BOT have any chance of selecting the successor. What will we do about the whole scenario? Just think about that!
Do we really want Paul Kelly to run Gally temporarily?
RLM
June 19th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
It doesn’t make sense to me when one of two new Gally Bot members put into Trustees on the board. Necessary to Have ASL on hands so the people can view what he said in sign language. If not, Gally will provide the voice interpreter for him for many hours in the near future. Trustees with ASL will sleep in the meeting for sure. hee!
June 19th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Robert,
If Davila can’t finish his term, Provost Steve Weiner will take over while the Board searches for a new President. There’s no doubt he is up to the job and will have the support of the community.
Also, look for the Board to start the search in August by setting up a campus-wide committee, with a goal of a new President announced in May 2009.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
According to past movements the collective community has the real power.
According to past decisions (made while you deaf and sometimes dumb people goes “comatose” (I roughly quote Bridgette Bourne-Firl)–like you folks did for 18 long years after 1988) the perpetual leadership has the real power. Think Dr. Fernandes and company tenured some who didn’t deserve and whatever while you deaf (and sometimes dumb) folks slept after naively rooting for IKJ sine 1988. I was opposed from the get go. I wanted Davila back in 1988 and learned that his name was put in the hat in 1983. He got screwed over twice.
Now, take out 600 students across Undergraduate (400), Graduate (100) and beyond (100) and Gallaudet is in collective trouble not to mention faculty, staff and administration thrust in the picture.
Just don’t forget the collective power of commoners like you, Amy Efron Cohen.
After all the board of trustees is overrated. It just became that way especially after Tiffany Granfors was named. In terms of reputation there are problems surrounding ICSD and especially its U.S. affiliate, the United States of America Deaf Sports Federation–which is presided by none other than Dr. Lawrence R. Fleischer who I acknowledge his strengths in other areas thus meriting being on the board of trustees. Presently, I feel there’s someone better qualified than Tiffany Granfors who’s time (and merits) hasn’t yet come. Why not Dr. Donalda Kay Ammons or Dr. Bobbie Beth Scoggins now of CSD? Oh I forgot, Sorenson will have an issue about this won’t they? They’ll want to top CSD by nominating Ron Burdett (deaf) of Sorenson. Irony, CSD and Sorenson sleeps together when giving out money to USADSF (under both Scoggins and Fleischer’s regimes) so why should Soukup feel threatened by this? He isn’t. He’s already set for life.
What I think will happen is that Gallaudet will languish in mediocrity because of perpetual problems affecting ALL U.S. Deaf schools and deaf in mainstreaming programs all over the country. The real concern here is the quality of students.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Sorenson wants to FREEZE, Hearing/Deaf Technology to what they do BEST. Video Relay.
But the FUTURE of Hearing/Deaf technology is to have VIDEO TRANSLATION from ASL into English. So that Deaf People can sign into a video camera and have it translated into English AUTOMATICALLY and People can speak into an ORDINARY PHONE and have it translated into ASL through a CGI, ASL generated speaker.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I agree it is very strange that Sorenson was voted in as a member of the Gallaudet Board of Trustees. I don’t understand how they rationalize that given the clear conflict of interest between him being on the Board and his business interest in the VRS operated through the Gallaudet-Sorenson partnership. More likely there’s a plan to give Sorenson control of the university and make it more like a business than an academic place. I would mourn the loss of the university itself but it may be the only viable way to keep Gallaudet going. By generating income from business and private sources Gallaudet can keep going and not have to worry about declining enrollment, declining donations from individuals and corporations, and a likely decline in federal government support.
T.G.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:05 am
To Deaf Sherlock-
If you had read the announcement from the BoT (earlier) you would have read that they (BoT) had announced that Davila’s contract had been extended to December 2009. You also would have read that the BoT received a report stating what wrong in the selection process the last time.
Based on that report, this BoT will start the new selection process soon.
All of this is old news-because it was announced earlier( On the Green, special announcements from BoT, Bob’s V-log, etc.).
And finally, I find it odd that you have decided to respond here-since you do practice a heavy hand of censorship on your blog-unlike Elizabeth.
To Chuckling-
One of the reasons why Galllaudet enrollment is down is because they are NOT admitting just anyone.
They have toughened the admission standards.
This is partly in response to the MSA issues-but also it partly out of the desire of this administration to improve the overall quality of education at Gallaudet.
Raphael J. St. Johns, MS (C-87, G-00)