School of Music students call for dean’s removal in open letter
DePaul’s School of Music, located in Lincoln Park.
In an open letter to President A. Gabriel Esteban, students called for the removal of Ronald Caltabiano, the dean of DePaul’s School of Music, citing a disregard for student feedback and “ineffectiveness in creating a safe space for students of color” over the past four years under his leadership.
The 10-page letter, written by members of the Student Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion at DePaul’s School of Music, references a June student survey about Caltabiano and his performance stating that after receiving no positive feedback in “nearly one-hundred submissions,” the coalition has “no confidence” in the dean moving forward.
The letter further calls for Esteban and the School of Music Executive Committee “to begin dismantling institutional inequality and dedicate itself to anti-racism” through the dismissal of Caltabiano and the establishment of a Diversity Mentor within the school to “improve the social culture towards equity and inclusion.”
In support of Caltabiano’s dismissal, the coalition cites a June 3 virtual forum in which the DePaul School of Music Executive Committee, led by Caltabiano, were to address student concerns regarding diversity and inclusion amid the protests and growing nationwide unrest regarding the murder of George Floyd and many others at the hands of police.
According to the letter, during the call Caltabiano showed a “lack of sensitivity and understanding” regarding the concerns of Black students and was ultimately “unprepared to lead this forum and lacked the empathy to fully comprehend the experiences of his students of color.”
The open letter is the latest of student efforts to address issues of racial injustice within the university. Former members of DePaul’s Phi Mu chapter recently took to social media to address issues of racism within the sorority. Additionally, a Coalition for Racial Justice was formed in June in response to the multiple tenure denials and firing of Lisa Calvente, who many believed was a victim of racial discrimination.
Editor’s note: The DePaulia has reached out to Dean Ronald Calatabiano and is awaiting comment. We will continue to update this story as it develops.
Joseph Paganini • Aug 7, 2020 at 11:50 am
Kudos to Joe Moran. I could not agree more with every word he wrote. As perhaps the greatest professor I ever had the privilege of knowing, Father Howard Tuite, said many years ago, “When you are a hammer, everything is a nail”, indeed we are seeing the effects of this here and now. These militant screwballs have no place at DePaul or any other university. How, other than through Affirmative Action and DePaul’s need for revenue from whatever source is available, did they even gain admission? It saddens me to think that public funds are being wasted on these brainless idiots who know no “doctrine of the mean” and perceive every action that does not involve privleged white people kissing their asses as racism.
Wait until these sad sacks enter the real world and attempt to find gainful employment Those of us who’ve suffered through these collective mindsets in the workplace know who to avoid and these pea brains are at the top of the reject heap. DePaul just keeps finding more and more ways to become the laughing stock of higher education. Admitting brainless, militant, monomanichial, students more suited for work, post high school or GED, at Big Lots, does little to improve its brand.
Joe Moran Sr • Aug 5, 2020 at 6:14 pm
August 5, 2020
Re: ‘Student Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion at DePaul’s School of Music’ petition
To identify me: DePaul MBA 1959: from immigrant family, 1st generation US Citizen, 1st generation college alum, Korean Wartime vet (1st Lt. Infantry); South-Side Chicago family roots from 1880s; born in Englewood; lived, worked, went to school in: Englewood, West Englewood, Austin, Auburn/Gresham, New City (Canaryville), Hyde Park, Loop, etc. – spread over 3 decades.
About this petition:
10 pages filled with innuendo, stories of ‘offense taken’ from anonymous sources; anonymous quotes from a survey prepared by a deep-set advocacy-group, with few details presented, e.g., what were the questions; were the questions neutral or biased, who was the survey sent to; was it a random selection of recipients or only to members of the ‘Coalition’; were ‘comments’ selectively chosen to achieve the end, i.e., summary-dismissal of a Dean?
This petition-rationale to justify dismissal is fraught with generalities: a few quotes from unidentified somebodies: “insensitivity regarding the concerns of the student body”, “ineffectiveness in creating safe space for students of color”, “lack of basic empathy”, “problematic shaping of curriculum”, “lack of empathy and sympathy towards students”, “his inability to address community issues”, and on and on – and on. And that’s only a few accusations from page 1 – with 9 to go.
Truly, a most disturbing statement from the petition: “1. Most importantly, a dean needs to empathize with the emotions and experiences of our students of color”. Most importantly? Really? Why is a subset of student population termed “Most importantly”? A question to these petitioners: what of other students? Have they not ‘emotions and experiences’ too? Or, are they, as New Yorkers are wont to say, merely “chopped liver” in our petitioners’ view?
This petition “DEMANDS”, not a dispassionate investigation, but the immediate dismissal of a Dean, based on allegation, sans any printed termination-worthy proofs. Has DePaul now come to this as a definition of a justice system: “J’Accuse; That’s it, You’re guilty, JUST GO!” Our sacred legal principle of “innocent until proven guilty” seems to have been replaced by this Coalition’s petition with the much more efficient (but scary) “Innocent until accused’ (no proof, no cross-examinations, no call for impartial investigation, no trial, and none of the other pesky impediments that protect freedoms from totalitarian governments or the threatening mob. I hope to God that does not become an accepted tenet at my old alma mater.
Or, Is this what “Wokeism Under Safe Spaces In Educational Systems” (WUSSIE) has devolved into at DePaul?
This petition is not befitting of any university-level education. It shouts, it demands, it hides behind anonymity. One can but hope that Dr. Esteban “Just Says NO” to this “DEMAND” from a group of students who seem to feel it suffices to scream accusations, convince by slogans, and brooks no deviation of opinion. They seem terrified of the hurly-burly of unfettered intellectual discussion of ALL relevant data before insisting on a particular action affecting people? This petition raises rote-thinking to undeserved heights. Indeed, there should be, but there is not, a forum at DePaul that embraces exploration of ideas, without being afraid. That desirable world would insist upon free and open discussion of ANY subject, in an atmosphere of true exchange of ideas, as befitting a great university.
One can only hope that DePaul still subscribes to the notion that a university is there to make intellectual life purposefully uncomfortable in order to teach students to think critically and to seriously weigh all relevant data and context before espousing a course of action affecting the lives of many.
Why? To LEARN!!! Not to win concessions by threats and argument-by-slogan.
So, Dr. Esteban, do not succumb to the ‘We Demand’ throng, whether they be students, faculty, or anyone else. Unthinking petitioners seeking personal agendas must not prevail in our university.
After all,
Principles matter – a lot.
Joe Moran
DePaul MBA 1959