David Musa King

October 3, 2017

Ms. Roberta J. Cordano
President
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Ave NE
Washington, DC 20002

Dear President Cordano,

Open Letter to President Roberta J. Cordano: You are an Embarrassment to Gallaudet University.

I am writing you this open letter on ground of being Gallaudet University Alumni and a regular donor. I am so embarrassed that I have to call you an embarrassment to the university. When you were selected as the first DEAF female President of Gallaudet University – I was never impressed with your leadership and your recent actions as the President of Gallaudet justified my stance. While I am fully aware that your position as the University’s president accorded you prerogatives but that do not mean you have to harbor double standard in your leadership.

Your recent decision to appoint Mr. Albert Dwight Benedict as the first Vice President of Student Affairs and Community Engagement without national search or community input is an testament of your clear double standard and ole boys network. I do not have to remind you that you have conducted two important national search, the positions of Chief of Staff and the Vice President/Chief Diversity Officer, so one would be wondering why is the appointment of Mr. Benedict unique this time?

As a woman, lesbian and a member of oppressed groups, one would have hoped that you are going to be a beacon of hope for oppressed groups especially the people of color at Gallaudet University. However it is an embarrassment that you subscribed to oppressor group of ole boys network.

In your appointment of Mr. Benedict as the Vice President of Student Affairs and Community Engagement, you emphasized on the importance of students’ experience while spitting out in the face of Students and Staff of Color who have sent you strong wondered letter their disapproved of Mr. Benedict’s leadership.

If it is important to serve you as reminder, the staff of color sent you letter on August 18, 2016 as a follow up to your meeting on March 8, 2016. Students of color also wrote you to express their rejection of Mr. Benedict’s leadership. Both the Staff and Students of Color expressed the existing race disparity on campus with proven statistics.

As an alumnus, I have nothing to say but to inform you how embarrassment you are to Gallaudet University. My current goal is to ask like-minded donor to stop donating to Gallaudet University till the college make change and address the diversity on campus.
Thank you,

David M. King
Greensboro, NC