Jordan Leaves Gallaudet With Painful Goodbye

Former President's Legacy May Not Reflect His Tenure

When I. King Jordan announced in fall 2005 to a hushed and expectant crowd at Gallaudet University that he would step down as president of the school for the deaf, people gasped. Many burst into tears. Dozens stood in line to thank him or to sign "I love you."

That was then.

In the past year, he has faced an onslaught of protests over his support for an unpopular would-be successor, including effigies, a faculty no-confidence vote, insults and accusations, some lingering bitterly through the end of his term Dec. 31.

At Gallaudet, for going on two decades, Jordan's presidency inspired an intensity of feeling hard to imagine on any other campus. He came in as a hero, a charismatic spokesman who told the world, deaf and hearing, how much was attainable.

It has been a painful goodbye.

Jordan has said many times that the school changed his life, starting when he was a young man stricken deaf in a motorcycle accident who found an education, hope and purpose at Gallaudet. How he changed the private university as its leader is still up for debate.

Nearly everyone agrees that he beautified the historic campus in Northeast Washington, raised its profile and strengthened its relations with Congress. But in a wrenching final year, critics harshly questioned everything from race relations to academic integrity to the school's relevance.

Robert Davila, who began as interim president this week, takes on a troubled university.

Time will tell whether the controversy that flared up over Jordan's potential successor is soon forgotten or remains to redefine his legacy. One thing is certain: His tenure ended as explosively as it began.

A Powerful Symbol

Jordan rode in on a protest. In 1988, students were outraged that once again a hearing person had been chosen to lead Gallaudet. They demanded a "deaf president now," shutting down the campus, marching through the streets of Washington -- and they won.

Jordan immediately became a powerful symbol for a culture that wanted equal rights, not paternalism. Books such as "The Week the World Heard Gallaudet" were written. He was inundated with media and public speaking requests. And Jordan, who has a politician's ease in crowds and a ready laugh, was just the person to be spokesman.

"If anybody took advantage of a PR opportunity, it was King," trustee Ken Levinson said.