The University has not stifled Kye Allums’ voice
Kye Allums is a valued GW student athlete. We have supported his decision to transition and have actively tried to help Kye and the GW women’s basketball team manage the intense interest in this story.
The athletics department’s paramount objective is the health and well-being of its student athletes. Based on the advice from the medical and training staff, which has been fully discussed with Kye, he will not be ready to return to full participation before the conclusion of the women’s basketball season. He continues to work on rehabilitation. As a student and a member of the women’s basketball team, he also still attends classes, practices, rehabilitation sessions and games when possible.
Requests for speaking engagements, such as media and promotional activities, by student athletes must meet and follow NCAA and GW athletics department guidelines. Kye has participated in such activities in the past, including a press conference and numerous print and broadcast interviews. For the remainder of the season, Kye and the athletics department have agreed that it is in his best interest to focus on his academics and his rehabilitation. After the season, Kye may have more time to pursue outside activities if he so chooses.
Lorraine Voles is the vice president for external relations.
Clarifications with the GSPM director search
I would like to clarify some information in The Hatchet’s Feb. 22, article, “GSPM restarts director search” (Feb. 22, pg. 1). While the details of the search must remain confidential, some explanations are in order.
The Hatchet article quotes alumni who say that I did not respond to their requests. After the search was already underway, two Graduate School of Political Management alumni asked the search chair and me for alumni representation on the committee. Both the search chair and I did respond to their inquiries by noting that the search committee was already underway, and that the committee would find ways to include alumni in the candidate lectures and forums. In fact, I sent a letter to Lindsay Marsh, president of the GSPM Alumni Association, on April 21, 2010, addressing her request for the association to participate in the search. Also, the committee members and staff supporting the search events estimate that few, if any, alumni attended these public events.
An earlier editorial, dated Feb. 10 (“A search to reflect GSPM’s values,” Feb. 10, pg. 4), stated: “Keeping faculty – the lifeblood of the school – away from the hiring process is also a cause for concern. Deciding a school’s director concerns every member of the school, and Burke should solicit suggestions from graduate students and faculty alike.”
In fact, no part-time faculty member asked to be part of the search committee, although one part-time faculty member in the College of Professional Studies was, in fact, a member of the committee by design. In contrast to the faculty exclusion that the earlier Hatchet editorial asserted, the search committee consisted of faculty members in six of the nine committee slots, and it was chaired by a distinguished professor of political science here at GW. So the charge of faculty exclusion from the process is simply untrue.
Thanks to the chair and search committee members, the search process was inclusive and fully met the University’s high standards. Both part-time faculty and members of the GSPM alumni were given opportunities to participate by the search committee. People choosing not to attend public forums is not the same thing as their being excluded from these events. I remain grateful for the committee’s recommendations and assessment, which were the foundation for my final decision to continue the search process.
Elsewhere in the Feb. 22 article, The Hatchet mentions the status of Edward Grefe, a part-time, adjunct faculty member in GSPM. The article alleges that we attempted to “fire” Grefe. In fact, adjunct faculty members, such as Grefe, are hired on a per-course basis. Provided that their teaching remains strong, they teach a particular course for four consecutive semesters, and if the course continues to be offered, under the union contract, they are invited back to teach. This was, and is, the case with Grefe, who continues to teach for GSPM.
It is important for Hatchet readers to understand that universities such as GW routinely search for, and find, highly qualified candidates for faculty leadership positions. Sometimes it takes more than one try, which does not imply that the initial attempt was flawed or that the process under which committees operate is autocratic. I am confident that GW will find the highly qualified leader for the GSPM that we all seek.
Dr. Kathleen M. Burke is the dean of the College of Professional Studies.
A flaw in JEC verification process
Because of a flaw in candidate verification, I was disqualified as a candidate for the Marvin Center Governing Board. The backstory behind the disqualification is far more interesting than merely a matter of turning in a late registration. For the record, I registered on time.
After turning in a completed registration form with exactly 100 signatures Feb. 20, the Joint Elections Committee began sending e-mails – candidate biography notices, advisory options and a candidate meeting date. In an e-mail Feb. 25, the JEC concluded with, “This email does signify verification of your candidacy.”
However, at 12:28 a.m. Feb. 28 (the day of the candidates meeting), I received an e-mail stating my petition for candidacy had been denied due to a failure to meet requirements.
The flaw in the verification of candidates is twofold. First, the JEC should not announce a candidate’s petition to be valid and then rescind the ruling. Not only does the flip-flop ruling create confusion, but also costs the candidate time, effort and money.
The second flaw in the verification process is the enforcement of nit-picky, unannounced considerations. My petition was declined because the JEC could not read five signatures out of the 100 petitioners for my candidacy. According to the e-mail declaring my petition denied, the JEC’s ruling is final and cannot be appealed. I know the names of the five supporters whose signatures they couldn’t read, but since they gave no notice (and I initially believed I was a verified candidate), no time remains for me to either gather more signatures or correct the “illegible” signatures. Perhaps the JEC will evaluate its verification process to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future.
Shawn Kelly is a junior majoring in arts administration.
