Center director’s dismissal renders future uncertain

Fragmented by an unusually abrupt administrative decision,
faculty are questioning the direction of the American Indian
Studies Center.

Graduate Division Vice Chancellor Claudia Mitchell-Kernan
announced in June she will not recommend former AISC director Duane
Champagne, in his 11th year, to serve another term, raising
questions about the dismissal process and where the center will go
from here.

University policy states “directorships of Organized
Research Units are limited to ten years of continuous tenure in all
but extraordinary circumstances,” said Max Benavidez,
assistant vice chancellor for university communications, speaking
on behalf of Mitchell-Kernan.

But many faculty members from both AISC and the
Interdepartmental Program in American Indian Studies were upset by
the decision not to renew Champagne’s position.

“We were the strongest we had ever been in the history of
the AISC,” Champagne said. “To run into this without
warning was astounding for everyone.”

The ten-year policy is sometimes applied differently to
specialized centers, since it is more difficult to find qualified
directors, said IDP chair Paul Kroskrity.

For example, Asian American Studies Center Director Don
Nakanishi is currently serving in his 12th year.

“The idea that Duane had to leave is definitely
wrong,” Kroskrity said. “If this was to be his terminal
year, this would be the year to begin selection ““ instead,
without any warning, he was kicked out.”

The administration is currently deciding on a course of action
to choose a new director.

“To ensure the continued vitality of the AISC, a process
is being developed to select the next director,” Benavidez
said.

An interim director, Hanay Geiogamah, was appointed to serve for
one year until a new director is chosen. Geiogamah, a theater
professor, chaired the AISC Faculty Advisory Committee before his
appointment.

“The decision has really caused some turbulence, but the
center is a very strong resilient operation,” Geiogamah said.
“We are definitely intact and moving forward.”

Community and faculty members also worry Mitchell-Kernan’s
decision to appoint Geiogamah as interim director marks an effort
to halt discussions about moving the center into the College of
Letters & Science. The center currently resides in the graduate
division, under Mitchell-Kernan’s jurisdiction.

Mitchell-Kernan could not be reached for comment after numerous
phone calls.

Geiogamah said he is open to discussions about moving the center
into the College, but wants to approach the issue more slowly than
some of his colleagues.

“I’ve been personally concerned that we not pull
away from our historic relationship with other ethnic studies in
the university without giving it really serious examination,”
Geiogamah said.

Ethnic Studies operates under the graduate division and
encompasses AISC, the Asian American Studies Center, the Chicano
Studies Research Center and the African American Studies
Center.

Faculty members in support of the move argue it makes sense to
group the center and the IDP together because the IDP is already
part of the College, and because the academic orientation of
American Indian studies is indigenous, as opposed to ethnic.

“It’s not that we want to break our existing ties
and relationships with ethnic studies,” Champagne said.
“But I think the center would fit in better with the
College.”

Aside from discussions about conflicting agendas, community
members and faculty are disturbed their input was not included in
the decision not to reappoint Champagne.

In early July, Kroskrity wrote a letter to Chancellor Albert
Carnesale and Executive Vice Chancellor Daniel Neuman to address
these concerns.

The letter ““ which included input from nine other faculty
members from advisory committees for both AISC and IDP ““ asks
that Carnesale reconsider Mitchell-Kernan’s decision by
“meeting with faculty who represent both the experienced and
majority perspective.”

“Note the frustration with the process, the negative
impact on the California Indian community, and the sense that this
is a destructive act and not an appropriate way to repair the minor
administrative problems with AISC under Professor Champagne’s
leadership,” the letter said.

Carnesale responded with a letter stating he and Executive Vice
Chancellor Daniel Neuman would develop a process for selecting the
next AISC director.

Carnesale also plans to appoint a committee to “examine
organizational and administrative arrangements related to ethnic
studies at UCLA,” the letter said.

“The point is to have this high level committee look at
ethnic studies and their organizational structures in order to make
them even stronger than they are,” Benavidez said.