(no subject)
The Buff and Blue, September 2007
The Prince of Kendall Green
Rudy Giuliani, Robert Davila, and the salvation of Gallaudet University
Earl Mikell
When we think of Rudy Giuliani, we invariably recall the scene of smoky ash and death that was Ground Zero, intertwined with Giuliani’s heroic performance on September 11, 2001. Yet when the matter of Giuliani’s legacy is settled, many years later in the future, he won’t be known as the man who got New York City through 9/11, but as the man who saved New York City, long before the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell. This is the contention of Fred Siegel’s detailed account of the Giuliani years, The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York and the Genius of American Life.
Siegel’s book discusses the mammoth effort Giuliani, taking a page from Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince on the utility of using one’s own ego to serve a greater need, undertook to revive the city, which was, by 1993, in the throes of a slow death. He revived the economy, reduced crime, made government more efficient, cleaned up the streets, and created the conditions for the city to continue on an upward path after Giuliani left. In short, he was the very image of managerial competence, working from a vision of what New York City was and could be. It was a vision, he believed, that was created by what he termed the genius of American life; that an innovative and upward-moving middle class society, protected from injury or death, should and must be allowed to flourish. That vision came under attack from all sides, but it held true to its promise, and the result today is a modern city, free of the blood-stained tensions of the last 40 years.
These days, the result of Giuliani’s vision, for some people, communities, and cities, is worth emulating. However, while Gallaudet University is not a city, like Giuliani’s New York, it is a community, and it adheres to a similar form of government (shared governance), with similar modes of communication, culture, and commerce. And until recently, Gallaudet was in poor shape, almost akin to New York. The trials and tribulations of 2006 brought our troubles out into the open, and right then, right there, we were on the brink of the abyss. It became evident by then that the university needed to be saved. We needed a Rudy Giuliani of our own. In true dramatic fashion, we got Robert Davila through the act of deposing his predecessor, Jane Fernandes.
To revive the university, a new vision was needed. Davila had one, and his vision was nearly on the same page as Giuliani’s. Instead of the middle class, he put forward a concept of the university’s disparate factions coming together to help make Gallaudet better, and use their status, knowledge, abilities and so on to innovate new ideas and methods, using the results to help push the campus into the 21st Century. Particular attention would be paid to the desires and ideas of the student body, as shown in the Great Ideas campaign of this past spring. He might not have been aware of what Giuliani did, but he took similar steps in terms of picking the right people to fit his vision, formulating policies that would drastically differ from his predecessors, and creating a vision, with necessary emphasis on what had to change, what had to be done, and who should do it.
And so in order to bring out the community’s enthusiasm for his policies, and instill a trait of patience, support and engagement for his vision, he chose to be upfront with the community, be active at their events, and reach out to various groups on campus. It would become evident that he had correctly interpreted the pulse of the community with his engagement, when his university reorganization plan was unveiled. Most of the changes, if not all, were justly hailed and made sense to faculty and student alike. The same went for his selection of Stephen Weiner as the new provost. By June, it became clearly obvious that Davila and his performance had won over the community. He wanted to engage with the community, and he wanted the community to engage him, too, which Jordan and Fernandes never did. In essence, Davila took a similar tack, much like Giuliani, to how he would do things at Gallaudet. He’s now well on his way to accomplishing much of what he wants to do here.
Giuliani did have a rough time in New York politically in his final years, but his impressive resume and performance has been able to distance him from the past, and is now being used to credit him as the man who saved New York, which is a very noteworthy compliment, and as America’s mayor. Robert Davila likewise has an impressive resume too, including stints as a senior official at RIT, and as the assistant secretary of education for the office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. He’s also weathered a little turbulence, as well, in this small community of ours, but has gotten himself through. Judging from what we’re seeing this year, it’s all but certain that Davila will later on be known as the man who saved Gallaudet University.
The Prince of Kendall Green
Rudy Giuliani, Robert Davila, and the salvation of Gallaudet University
Earl Mikell
When we think of Rudy Giuliani, we invariably recall the scene of smoky ash and death that was Ground Zero, intertwined with Giuliani’s heroic performance on September 11, 2001. Yet when the matter of Giuliani’s legacy is settled, many years later in the future, he won’t be known as the man who got New York City through 9/11, but as the man who saved New York City, long before the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell. This is the contention of Fred Siegel’s detailed account of the Giuliani years, The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York and the Genius of American Life.
Siegel’s book discusses the mammoth effort Giuliani, taking a page from Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince on the utility of using one’s own ego to serve a greater need, undertook to revive the city, which was, by 1993, in the throes of a slow death. He revived the economy, reduced crime, made government more efficient, cleaned up the streets, and created the conditions for the city to continue on an upward path after Giuliani left. In short, he was the very image of managerial competence, working from a vision of what New York City was and could be. It was a vision, he believed, that was created by what he termed the genius of American life; that an innovative and upward-moving middle class society, protected from injury or death, should and must be allowed to flourish. That vision came under attack from all sides, but it held true to its promise, and the result today is a modern city, free of the blood-stained tensions of the last 40 years.
These days, the result of Giuliani’s vision, for some people, communities, and cities, is worth emulating. However, while Gallaudet University is not a city, like Giuliani’s New York, it is a community, and it adheres to a similar form of government (shared governance), with similar modes of communication, culture, and commerce. And until recently, Gallaudet was in poor shape, almost akin to New York. The trials and tribulations of 2006 brought our troubles out into the open, and right then, right there, we were on the brink of the abyss. It became evident by then that the university needed to be saved. We needed a Rudy Giuliani of our own. In true dramatic fashion, we got Robert Davila through the act of deposing his predecessor, Jane Fernandes.
To revive the university, a new vision was needed. Davila had one, and his vision was nearly on the same page as Giuliani’s. Instead of the middle class, he put forward a concept of the university’s disparate factions coming together to help make Gallaudet better, and use their status, knowledge, abilities and so on to innovate new ideas and methods, using the results to help push the campus into the 21st Century. Particular attention would be paid to the desires and ideas of the student body, as shown in the Great Ideas campaign of this past spring. He might not have been aware of what Giuliani did, but he took similar steps in terms of picking the right people to fit his vision, formulating policies that would drastically differ from his predecessors, and creating a vision, with necessary emphasis on what had to change, what had to be done, and who should do it.
And so in order to bring out the community’s enthusiasm for his policies, and instill a trait of patience, support and engagement for his vision, he chose to be upfront with the community, be active at their events, and reach out to various groups on campus. It would become evident that he had correctly interpreted the pulse of the community with his engagement, when his university reorganization plan was unveiled. Most of the changes, if not all, were justly hailed and made sense to faculty and student alike. The same went for his selection of Stephen Weiner as the new provost. By June, it became clearly obvious that Davila and his performance had won over the community. He wanted to engage with the community, and he wanted the community to engage him, too, which Jordan and Fernandes never did. In essence, Davila took a similar tack, much like Giuliani, to how he would do things at Gallaudet. He’s now well on his way to accomplishing much of what he wants to do here.
Giuliani did have a rough time in New York politically in his final years, but his impressive resume and performance has been able to distance him from the past, and is now being used to credit him as the man who saved New York, which is a very noteworthy compliment, and as America’s mayor. Robert Davila likewise has an impressive resume too, including stints as a senior official at RIT, and as the assistant secretary of education for the office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. He’s also weathered a little turbulence, as well, in this small community of ours, but has gotten himself through. Judging from what we’re seeing this year, it’s all but certain that Davila will later on be known as the man who saved Gallaudet University.