Articles & News About Student Loans & School

Shades of Political Golem Put Gallaudet University at Risk

Washington, DC (PRWEB) February 19, 2008 -- A committee of commissioners of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is set to conduct a visit to Gallaudet University on April 13-15, 2008, in order to monitor compliance with MSCHE standards. Gallyprotest.org is hereby calling on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to investigate signs that Gallaudet University has made no progress in complying with key components of MSCHE Standard 4, the Leadership and Governance standard ("The institution's system of governance clearly defines the roles of institutional constituencies in policy development and decision-making.")

Signs that a small, but entrenched group of status-quo administrators at Gallaudet University are engaged in an political, administrative struggle with the current Gallaudet president have been evident in the past several weeks and months, says Gallyprotest.org.

At Gallaudet, the current Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Administration and Finance has held his position since 1988 and is still today continuing to pursue the status quo goals of the prior Jordan administration, in spite of the clear political mandate to the contrary, which was provided by Gallaudet's authentic constituency, as established by the outcome of the events of 2006.

The specter of a de facto dual presidency looms at Gallaudet, created by the Board of Trustees' bylaws which have the effect of granting the CFO and the President equal levels of political-administrative efficacy at Gallaudet. Though the President has a "seat" on the Board, the President does not possess voting privileges, and the CFO serves at the pleasure of the voting members of the Board, not the President.

The current CFO/Vice President of Administration rose to a position of influence at Gallaudet as the result of former Gallaudet President I. King Jordan's ascension to the presidency in 1988.

Jordan's political maneuvering, in his effort to apply a revisionist interpretation of the historical roots of, and the political meaning of the Deaf President Now campaign, can be seen in an article that appeared in the Washington Post on September 12, 1988. The author, who interviewed key Jordan supporters (including Senator Tom Harkin) and reviewed Jordan's extensive prior comments, put forth an inaccurate premise which reflected Jordan's view, a view which incorporates the fallacy of reification in positing the historical existence of an American community of deaf people in an overarching audiological sense. However, "the deaf community" (or "deaf world"), in such audiological sense, is not an actual community, but is only an abstraction of the same type as the abstractions: "green-eyed people," "right-handed people," "brunettes," etc. To posit the existence of such types of human communities based on biological characteristics qua biological characteristics would actually be an exercise in racism, per the common dictionary definition of the term, possible benevolent intentions notwithstanding.

At the beginning of Jordan's tenure as President, both Jordan and Senator Harkin paid lip service in recognition of Gallaudet's mission (to serve visually-oriented Deaf people who sign), but their subsequent actions showed a mismatch between their words and their actions. Not only did Jordan proceed to mischaracterize the the historical roots of, and the political meaning of the Deaf President Now campaign, but Senator Harkin also cited the existence of the DPN as supposedly being justification for the creation of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), in order to, among other purposes, push for the acceleration of the research and development of cochlear implants.

Medical research has its proper and valued place, and Senator Harkin's later support for stem-cell research is worthy of praise, but his push for the widespread use of cochlear implants represents the beginning of a reckless, headlong rush into humankind's use of cybernetic technology, without the proper society-wide debate or apprehension of the significance of such technology and its proper use, says Gallyprotest.org.

In March of 1999, the Deafness Research Foundation (DRF) launched a new "National Campaign for Hearing Health," the purpose of which, in major part, was to advocate for the further development and use of cochlear implants. The actions of Gallaudet President I. King Jordan, subsequent to the launch of this campaign, indicate a probable unilateral, conscious decision on his part to change Gallaudet's mission to coincide with what he believed to be DRF's goals, and to influence "what it means to be deaf in the 21st Century" (Washington Post interview, 2006).

In the Spring of 2000, Jordan demoted the Provost at Gallaudet without giving a reason, then unilaterally installed his choice for replacement without any involvement of the faculty, contrary to the provisions of the University's shared governance policy. The new Provost then proceeded to give biased information to the New York Times (June 21, 2000), says Gallyprotest.org, having made the claim that no studies existed to show whether any method in deaf education (i.e., auditory or visual) works better than any other, despite the consensus among scholars that Deaf children who learn American Sign Language from birth on experience substantially greater academic success. Then in September of 2000, the Cochlear Implant Education Center was established at Gallaudet, as a division of the Clerc Center.

The fact that the implications of the events of October 25, 2006 at Gallaudet have been ignored and not followed up on is a fact which is obvious to all members of Gallaudet campus community. Such non-action and failure to impose appropriate employment consequences has had the effect of casting a pall over the entire Gallaudet community, it being impossible to ignore the fact of the involvement of the current CFO/Vice President of Administration who was a member of the CMT.

The specter of Jordan's eventual political rehabilitation being grafted onto the political scene at Gallaudet by virtue of extramural motivations and by non-explicit means, in a nonstandard exercise of governance, looms large--a prospect which could only lead to the creation of additional political and academic contingencies down the road which will be more deeply intractable than any that have existed so far, thereby putting not only the effective functioning of Gallaudet at risk, but also creating potential contingencies for the Academy and the entire academic community. As a case in point, the current "respect all ideas" theme of Gallaudet's new diversity plan shows evidence of such intentions towards Jordan's eventual preplanned political rehabilitation and the continuation of the old status quo policy of allowing the influence of special interests (e.g., the Deafness Research Foundation), which are not part of Gallaudet's constituency, to steer Gallaudet away from its historic mission.

The "respect all ideas" theme, by the plain meaning of those words, goes contrary to the spirit of the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). The 1940 Statement calls for the respect of the OPINIONS of others, i.e., people's judgment of the usefulness and worth of various ideas. To posit that there can be such a thing as the "respect" for ALL ideas, not just people's opinions about them, would actually have effects toward the impingement of the concept of academic freedom, not the enabling thereof.

Hence the Gallaudet community is faced with the possibility of the former President's political life being resuscitated, with him being allowed to create more political contingencies which would serve as being serious and long-term political obstacles, as an exercise in influence which is undeserved and uncalled for, in the style of a political golem made animate through the intervention and assistance of others.

###

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

Academic Financial Solutions Announces New Private Education Loans and Private Student Loan Consolidation Products
Leading student loan consolidation company, Academic Financial Solutions, now offers private education loans and private consolidation loans, adapting to the changing student loan industry.

Private Student Loans - The Alternative Education Loan for Students in Need of Additional Financial Aid
Private Student Loans: The alternative education loan for students in need of additional financial aid

Student Loan Alternatives or Private Student Loans
"Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation." John F. Kennedy.

Student Debt Consolidation to Reduce Student Loan Debt
Student Debt Consolidation Can Reduce Student Loan Debt by Applying Online for Student Loan Consolidation Programs

College Loan Consolidation: You Solution To Student Loan Payback
For those students wishing to get a college education who do not qualify for scholarships and who cannot work who can?t work enough to cover their college expenses, student loans can provide an answer. While borrowing money is never the ideal way to pay for anything, there are hundreds of thousands of people for whom a college education would have remained out of reach were it not for student loans. Even state colleges and universities can cost state residents upwards of $15,000 per year.

Help is Still Available, Despite Cuts in Student Loans and Student Loan Consolidations
StudentLoanCenter.biz, a provider of information and assistance with student loans and student loan refinancing, has good new despite halts in college lending.

Student Loan Consolidation And Government Student Loan Consolidation
One of the best investments that a person can have in his life is education You have to pay for that high college education so that you will be able to get higher paying job

College Student Loan Site Looks to Government Report for Insight
StudentLoanCenter.biz, a Web site that provides student loan assistance, is awaiting a government report that should signal the need for credit reform.

Government Student Loans- Useful Hint For Government Loans
As you devour this article, remember that the rest of it contains valuable information related to government student loans and in some way related to federal student loans deferment, student loans even with bad credit, paying federal student loans or consolidating federal and private student loans for your reading pleasure.

Consolidating Your Student Loans - Tips For College Debt Management
Getting through school is a worthwhile accomplishment You start a new life, hopefully launch into a new career, and have to start paying those college bills

SimpleTuition Adds Discover Student Loans: Expands Student Loan Options for Students and Parents
SimpleTuition, Inc., a company dedicated to helping students and parents make sense of education financing choices, today announced an agreement with Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) to include its full line of student loan products - Discover Student Loans - among SimpleTuition's online offerings. Discover Student Loans include federal Stafford, federal PLUS, and private loans that cover the costs of higher education - tuition, housing, books and more.

College Student Loans- Useful Roadmap For Student Loans
If you are searching for information related to college student loans or any other such as federal student loan consolidation rates, BC government student loan, federal government student loans or federal student loan forgiveness programs you have come to the right article. This piece will provide you with the not just general college student loans information but also specific and helpful information. Enjoy it.

Student Consolidation Loan: How Consolidating Student Loans Can Keep You Out Of Debt
The repayment of Federal student loans generally begins after the borrowing student has completed his or her education and an additional grace period after that. However, due to various reasons students opt for student Federal loan consolidation. However, there is certain eligibility criterion that you must fulfill and a process that you must follow before you can be entitled to Federal debt consolidation of student loans. Again, it is important to note here that such processes and criterion might be reviewed and revised from time to time. So, it?s important that you check on them with the concerned authority.

Student College Loans  The Money for College Students
Introduction On promoted from the school academics, some students try their destiny for securing a brighter future prospect. For that, the students may either continue their studies or go in for their personal objectives. Once the students determine the academics, they may have to ponder over for the required expenditure on the structural figure of the educational institutions. For this purpose, the banks and other commercial institutions have provision of student college loans. These loans have hit upon for the cash deficit, and found ways for the aspired students who face some financial predicaments while getting admission in an institution.