Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Whitmore is new SJSU president

Abstract:
Jon Whitmore has been selected to be the next president of SJSU, the California State University Board of Trustees announced this morning. ...

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anna

posted 5/14/08 @ 1:11 PM PST

Out of the white male, white woman, and hispanic male, the white male prevails. Let's just hope he'll acknowledge the diversity of the university...

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Kent

posted 5/14/08 @ 5:55 PM PST

Keep the faith, Anna. I'm faculty at Texas Tech and am very involved in diversity issues in the classroom and across campus. Jon Whitmore understands the importance of diversity in 21st century higher ed. and is committed to promoting it among students, faculty and staff. The Mentor Tech program that he nurtured during his tenure here has significantly improved retention rates among African American and Latino/a students.

Originally posted by
anna
Out of the white male, white woman, and hispanic male, the white male prevails. Let's just hope he'll acknowledge the diversity of the university...

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Blake Southwood

posted 5/14/08 @ 11:39 PM PST

Originally posted by
anna
Out of the white male, white woman, and hispanic male, the white male prevails. Let's just hope he'll acknowledge the diversity of the university...

The proof will be in the pudding in terms of what he does for SJSU. Also, we won't know what his abilities are until a year has passed and then we'll know if he was a good choice. I think that it would have been preferable if there was a larger pool of candidates to choose from then just three.

It is interesting, though, that of all the qualities and brain power of the candidates the first attack on the Spartan Daily was a criticism based on genes and chromosones and not brains and experience.

I, personally, would have preferred a president of the university to be younger so that he or she would be thinking along the same wavelength of college students rather than the professors.

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AS dude

posted 5/15/08 @ 10:52 PM PST

Originally posted by
anna
Out of the white male, white woman, and hispanic male, the white male prevails. Let's just hope he'll acknowledge the diversity of the university...

Wow, look at how fast you jumped on the race and gender card.

Part of that diversity includes neurodiversity but you don't hear people going on about that as much because perhaps it isn't as usable.

Yeah, I know that's totally politically incorrect and could get a person smeared pretty easily. Cannonfodder it may be, but high-functioning learning disabled people are also a minority. An invisible one Ana. They don't have their own wings and library sections and I'm not resenting that; just saying.

Because probably nobody else will dare to.

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Jamie

posted 5/15/08 @ 4:19 PM PST

First of all, I would just like to state that there was a larger pool of candidates than three to begin with. The search committee narrowed the pool down to the three best finalists who then visited the college.

Also, Whitmore has 2 kids who are currently in college and he has worked at 5 major universities for the past 30 years so I believe his goals and views will be aligned with the students' as well as the professors. Even though he might not be the youngest candidate, it does not mean he isn't up to date on campus life and students' problems.

Also, he has worked in two different universities in Texas where minority students and diversity were major factors in his job, so he does have experience in that field.

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