Dartmouth College -- an institution which prides itself on high academic standards, exceptional students and distinguished faculty members, an institution which was recently awarded the number one rating in U.S. News and World Report's category for "Best Teaching," recognizing Dartmouth's faculty as exemplary -- will be saying good-bye to one of its finest members, Professor Jorge Hernandez-Martin of the Spanish department.
The recent news of the department's decision to deny Hernandez-Martin tenure leaves us searching for answers.
How could a man who epitomizes that which Dartmouth College prides itself on, a man who has dedicated the last eight years of his life to teaching, adding so much to the College's intellectual diversity both in and out of the classroom, a man who has touched the lives of so many students, suddenly become expendable overnight?
I first met Professor Hernandez-Martin in one of my very first courses here at Dartmouth, my freshman seminar, Latin American and Caribbean Studies 8 "The Cuban Exile Experience." For ten weeks, I literally sat on the edge of my seat -- for what I experienced was teaching at its finest.
His love for teaching and his dedication to his students stemmed beyond just his graduate studies -- it was deeply engrained in his blood, in his heart and in his soul.
Hernandez-Martin himself was a Cuban exile, forced to flee from his homeland of Cuba at a young age, escaping the oppressive rule of Fidel Castro, later to end up in the United States reunited with his family.
His teaching extended far beyond the classroom, always willing to spend time outside of class discussing any topic with interested students like myself, guiding me to numerous literary sources, many of which were his own recently published works.
Speaking for myself is one thing, but I am certainly prepared to speak on behalf of my fellow students who have been fortunate enough to have Hernandez-Martin as a teacher, friend or mentor.
I have spoken with numerous friends who recently returned from his LSA this winter in Queretaro, Mexico, and every single report has been overflowing with words of praise and enthusiasm for not only Hernandez-Martin but for the program itself (which the department has discontinued).
The compliments are endless from not only fellow students in my LACS seminar, but from students who have taken his Spanish courses (including the course he developed for native speakers), those who have studied on his LSAs in past years and from students who are in his seminar this term.
Moreover, his scholarly work, much of which I have had the chance to read, including a recently published summary of last year's conference here at Dartmouth titled, "The Future of Democracy in Cuba," places him at the top of the list of respected scholars in his field.
Why then has the department of Spanish and Portuguese made such an unwise decision which is clearly detrimental to the students of the College and the academic reputation of this institution?
How can President Freedman continue to pride this institution on our ranking as the number one undergraduate institution for teaching in this country while at the same time treating professors like Hernandez-Martin as expendable resources?
In light of his outstanding teaching record and long list of groundbreaking publications which would qualify him for tenure at any respectable institution, why has the College, which prides itself on "enhancing diversity" amongst its students and faculty, not been able to see how contradictory this decision is based on its latest Affirmative Action Report 1995-1996, in which the College acknowledges that as of July, 1995, the percentage of tenured minority males in relation to the total number of minority males is only 34.6 percent -- significantly lower than all other groups, including minority women?
As students, we demand answers to these questions.
All of the evidence clearly suggests that something suspicious and foul is brewing in the Spanish department.
I personally challenge the administration to conduct a full-fledged investigation into the reasons behind the department's disgraceful decision. Those who are responsible for this decision clearly have placed their own agenda above the academic integrity of this institution. This cannot and will not be tolerated.
On behalf of myself and my fellow students, we wish you well, Professor Hernandez-Martin, in all of your future endeavors. You have truly been an asset to Dartmouth College and your presence will be deeply missed.
