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May 8, 2012
It is our understanding that, despite several attempts by Ken to determine the status of his contract for 2012-2013, there has been no answer from the University about this pressing issue. Yet again coalition members are taking time from their demanding schedules to tell UofO leaders that Ken is an instructor that the university cannot do without.
Many of you have received an email entitled "Classes for Fall and Contract Status". Send your eloquent and compelling statement to the university by selecting "Reply All" on this email. THIS MAY BE OUR LAST CHANCE!!!
If you have not received this email please send all statements on Ken's behalf to the following persons:
These include: Acting president of the U of O - Robert Berdahl, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs- Russell Tomlin,
the Dean of CAS - Scott Coltrane, the Associate Dean of Social Sciences (the relevant departments in CAS) - Andrew Marcus,
Steve Duin - an influential columnist for the Oregonian and the current
KKC and Ken.
You can copy and past the following in your "send to" box:
"Robert Berdahl" <pres@uoregon.edu>, "Russell Tomlin" <tomlin@uoregon.edu>, coltrane@uoregon.edu, "Andrew Marcus" <marcus@uoregon.edu>, "Steve Duin" <sduin@oregonian.com>, "Jondwlyn Thomas" <jondwlyn@gmail.com>, "Heather St Clair" <heather.ns@hotmail.com>, "Theodore Sweeney" <tsweene1@uoregon.edu>, "Omar H Hagrass" <ohagrass@uoregon.edu>, "Toby Morus" <rtmorus@gmail.com>, elora@uoregon.edu, "phoebe" <phoebe@uoregon.edu>, "madey" <madey@uoregon.edu>, "Beshara Kehdi" <bkehdi@uoregon.edu>, "Ken De Bevoise" <debevois@gmail.com
Support Ken, Oregon education and future Ducks.
October 13,2011
Faculty Letter Campaign
In an effort to promote faculty awareness and facilitate an open dialogue and faculty-student cooperation we have begun a Faculty Letter Campaign. We have previously dealt primarily with UofO adminstration and political science leadership but have not had an open line of communication to the instructors in the Political Science Department. We're reaching out now and we hope that the Political Science faculty will be receptive to their alumni and students concerns.
October 7, 2011
Dr. Russell Tomlin, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, requests a meeting with Ken, Dr. Scott Coltrane, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Andrew Marcus, Associate Dean of Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, to "discuss Ken's appointment, UO processes and procedures pertinent to it, and how we will move forward for the future".
The Coalition is not invited, however; we will be sending a letter to each administrative participant informing them of our dedication to the UofO, political science, undergraduate education and our profound interest in the results of this meeting.
Meeting to be held Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 4:00 pm
October 5, 2011
And The Beat Goes On!
More than a year after we won Ken's job back the Political Science Department under the leadership of Priscilla Southwell is attempting to discredit Ken as an instructor in, what we believe is, preparation for yet another attempt to oust him from the Department.
On May 25, 2011 Patricia Southwell "evaluated" Ken by attending his PS 230 Urban Politics class. In an extremely ill-conceived, shortsighted and condescending assessment Dr. Southwell likened this class to a book club and neighbor association meeting.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Ken's classes are some of, if not the most, challenging social science courses at the university. It falls to us again to ensure that UofO students continue to have access to this exceptional instructor.
Read Southwell's evaluation and get involved. HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO.
Read the incredible letters from employees of the US State Department, United Nations, Doctors without Borders, Peace Corps Volunteers, Attorneys, Current and Former Students, Parents, Friends, Family and many more that flooded our email refuting the Southwell evaluation and petitioning the UofO to renew its commitment to undergraduates and to Ken.
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Undergraduate Education Is Broken. . .
"What makes you think that students should have any say in administrative decisions?"
- Lars Skalnes, Former University of Oregon Political Science Department head to two students who met with him to ask his advice on how to go about reversing the decision to phase out Professor Ken DeBevoise The University of Oregon's decision to let Professor Ken DeBevoise go makes no sense and is frankly suspicious. The record shows that Ken has been one of the university’s most effective professors. For the past 14 years he has influenced our lives in ways that no other professor has. Professor Ken DeBevoise, repeatedly credited in evaluations as "the best professor I ever had," whose course ranked as "the most informative and meaningful of my academic career," is one of the University of Oregon's most dedicated and influential professors. He has practically devoted his entire life to his students by empowering and motivating them to reach their full potential for 20 years. He is not only an enormous asset to the University of Oregon's political science department, but undergraduate education as a whole.
Now, because of the University of Oregon's lack of real concern for the quality of undergraduate education, they are phasing Ken DeBevoise out of the political science department under the guise of focusing on hiring tenure-track professors to the exclusion of non-tenured track professors such as Ken DeBevoise. However, most of us understand, and some administrators have even acknowledged, that Ken DeBevoise is specifically being phased out of the department because his non-traditional teaching methods are a nuisance to the university. After all, when Ken DeBevoise's students are empowered enough to challenge a bureaucracy, it's not good for the University of Oregon.
The University of Oregon's decision to let Professor Ken DeBevoise go is extremely poor. Ken DeBevoise is one of the University of Oregon's best professors and he has influenced our lives in ways that no other professor has.
The Keep Ken Coalition has spoken to university administrators at every level only to be consistently ignored or lied to. We should not have to beg our university to recognize and respond to our concerns. The University of Oregon must allocate the neccesary funding to keep this professor at the university; we have shown how neccesary Ken DeBevoise is to this university and it is time that University of Oregon administrators recognized that the purpose of this institution is to educate students.
Please take a moment to look around the site and decide for yourself whether what's happening right now is in the best interests of higher education.
We need your support to make administrators understand that they cannot get away with such unadulterated disrespect.
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