[Reading-hall-of-fame] Events at IRA headquarters

Wed Feb 25 23:22:22 GMT 2009

Curiouser and curiouser -- while I'm not sure what role HOF should play, Ken's comments seem sensible, and I support his suggestions for a course of action.  Bob Calfee

Robert Calfee
1207 Sproul Hall
Graduate School of Education
University of California
Riverside CA 92521 Fax 951-827-3942
Stanford School of Education
Stanford CA 94305
Home P/F 650-561-4665 Cell 650-833-9434
995 Wing Pl Stanford 94305

---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:25:05 -0700
>From: reading-hall-of-fame-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk (on behalf of Ken Goodman <Kgoodman at u.arizona.edu>)
>Subject: [Reading-hall-of-fame] Events at IRA headquarters  
>To: Reading Hall of Fame <reading-hall-of-fame at nottingham.ac.uk>, Maryann Manning <mmanning at uab.edu>, Robert Ruddell <rruddell at uclink4.berkeley.edu>, Rob Tierney <rob.tierney at ubc.ca>, "Altwerger, Bess" <BAltwerger at towson.edu>
>
>
>Dear colleague:
>I want to share my impressions of what has happened in IRA recently and 
>also some communication I've had with Alan Farstrup.  I talked to 
>President Barbara Walkers and ome of the board members in Phoenix at the 
>IRA conference, . I also talked with some of the staff members. In 
>summary here is what I learned: Since there has been no official 
>statement from the board I cannot vouch for the accuracy of all of my 
>summary though I have restrained from repeating rumors which were 
>rampant  in Phoenix.
>
>This is what happened as nearly as I can determine.
>
>The Executive committee composed of President Barbara Walker, Vice 
>President Kathy Au, and VP-Elect Pat Edwards. made the decision to 
>terminate Alan Farstrup. They then polled the board who voted to support 
>their action, An official vote was then held in Phoenix at a board 
>meeting prior to the conference there.
>
>According to Alan  there was no discussion with him prior to his receipt 
>of a terse letter from a Chicago attorney employed by  the Board 
>dismissing him.
>The staff, to date, has received no notice of what has taken place other 
>than a memo that there was a new acting executive director. One staff 
>member indicated that he had not heard the word "fired" until he got to 
>Phoenix.
>
>There was an outside audit of the IRA conferences since 2002 which 
>indicated some concerns which troubled the Executive Committee and the 
>Board. The director of conferences subsequently resigned.
>
>The board members were strongly cautioned not to discuss the entire 
>matter. In the last week however they were permitted to discuss it and a 
>number of people active in IRA were called personally by Executive 
>Committee members. Barbara Walker called Yetta and me.
>
>Alan told  me that he would welcome, for his sake and for IRA's  an 
>unbiased mediation and would prefer that to litigation over his contract 
>which runs through June 2010. Unless there is mediation there will 
>certainly be a court suit.
>
>My own view:
>
>There may well be charges against Alan which may or may not have 
>warranted terminating him as Executive Director.However it is impossible 
>for any of us who care about the Association to evaluate such possible 
>charges since they have not been made publicly. "If you knew what I 
>knew" is certainly not an adequate statement of causes for such an 
>abrupt and extreme action. It is hard to understand why his dismissal 
>needed to take place so rapidly just before the Phoenix conference, why 
>it had to involve a Chicago attorney, and why such secrecy was and still 
>is necessary. This certainly will cast a pall over the selection of  a 
>new Executive Director which is coincidentally drawing to a conclusion.
>
>I suggest two courses of action:
>
>As many active members of IRA as possible including past presidents and 
>past board members should ask the Board to offer to mediate the terms of 
>Alan's separation from his position. I believe that such mediation is 
>warranted regardless of the adequacy of the charges against Alan. I 
>didn't ask him whether he wants to serve out his contract. In view of 
>what has happened however I would suspect that he would be willing to 
>accept a fair settlement.
>
>There are many reasons why mediation would be better than litigation. 
>One is the expense of court and lawyers fees. Another is the negative 
>publicity that IRA would suffer and the impact  that would have on its 
>reputation and the possible loss of membership. Perhaps the best reason 
>for mediation is that it is the fair way to proceed and that courts 
>always want to see that internal alternatives have been exhausted before 
>bringing the case to the courts.
>
> I think that it is important that this be a decision of the full board 
>and not just of the Executive committee. I do not believe that the IRA 
>by-laws permit the Executive Committee to make this kind of decision in 
>the name of the board. And I believe that the members of the executive 
>committee themselves appear to be unwilling to reconsider the decisions 
>they made and the manner in which they were made.
>
>I would also suggest that the board be asked to appoint an extraordinary 
>committee to investigate the issues surrounding  Alan Farstrup's 
>dismissal and the causes which led up to it.
>I suggest that such a committee might include: A retired past president 
>from ten more years in the past. A retired president from the last five 
>years who did not serve at the same time as current officers and the 
>Executive Director of a sister professional educational organization 
>such as NCTE, ASCD, AERA etc. There should have been such a committee 
>before the Board acted but it is not too late. If there is substance to 
>the issues which caused the executive committee to act then it is likely 
>that there are further actions which are necessary  for the board to 
>take to prevent repetitions. And a new Executive Director will be 
>reassured if the air is cleared before he or she takes control.
>
>Please respond if you agree or disagree with  my summation and my 
>recommendations. And please make your feelings known to the Board. Feel 
>free to pass this message on.
>
>Ken Goodman
>
>
>
>
>
>
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