Dismay over Syracuse Appointment of Dean
By jimk on Oct. 31, 2005.
STATEMENT OF DISAPPROVAL
OF THE RESEARCH AND TEACHER EDUCATION COMMUNITIES
IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
OF THE APPOINTMENT OF DOUGLAS BIKLEN AS
DEAN OF EDUCATION AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
29 October 2005
We, the undersigned, are fully aware that Syracuse University and its School of Education do not depend on our approval for making administrative decisions. However, we also recognize the responsibilities of academic institutions in making leadership appointments in their departments, colleges, and schools of education. Now, as never before, research and training in education are being scrutinized and typically found culpable for the poor learning outcomes of many students. Selection of a dean, therefore, constitutes an important and very public signal of how seriously a university views its responsibilities towards public education. By selecting someone whose record constitutes an argument against rigorous science in research involving individuals with disabilities, Syracuse University has sent a public message of disregard for education that undermines not only its own standing among academic institutions but also, by negative example, threatens the credibility of all educators engaged in rigorous research addressing critical problems in teaching and learning.
In our opinion, it is essential that both individuals and institutions adhere to the highest standards of scientific rigor in their professional conduct. We therefore express our strong disapproval of the appointment of Douglas Biklen as Dean of Education at Syracuse University for reasons that we explain.
Since the early 1990s, Professor Biklen has persistently and, in our view inadvisably, promoted training in and the use of facilitated communication (FC), an ostensible means of communication that has been resoundingly and thoroughly discredited by many scientific studies. The American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Association on Mental Retardation, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Association for Behavior Analysis, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the New York State Department of Health have all gone on record advising against the use of FC. Furthermore, the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health has expressed its criticism of Professor Biklen’s appointment, with which we concur.
As researchers and members of the teacher education communities in special education, we are deeply concerned by the harm to individuals with disabilities, their families, therapists, and teachers resulting from the use of FC. The harm to which we refer includes the false hopes, false accusations of abuse, wasted learning opportunities, and miseducation of teachers fostered by FC and training in its use.
Many controlled investigations by scientists who study communication, education, and mental health have led to a consensus that FC is, if not a hoax, an unreliable and discredited means of communication. We find it disturbing that Professor Biklen has ignored this evidence and continued to insist that the scientific studies revealing the illegitimacy of FC are themselves unreliable. Professor Biklen may have good intentions, but his unrelenting advocacy of FC in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence that it typically results in counterfeit messages (produced unwittingly by the “facilitator”) does not serve the cause of science or of social justice or of individuals with disabilities. We wish to disassociate ourselves from the fraudulent claims of FC and the non-scientific methods used by Professor Biklen and his colleagues in their attempts to validate the technique.
Our statement is not based on ad hominem toward Professor Biklen. In our opinion, the decision of Syracuse University to appoint Professor Biklen as Dean of its School of Education brings discredit to the university precisely and solely because it reflects disrespect for educational and psychological research as well as teacher preparation, given Professor Biklen’s disregard for scientific evidence. Certainly, Professor Biklen is free to believe and teach whatever he wants. However, we believe that university administrators have a larger commitment to select as leaders of academic units, including education, those individuals who demonstrate a clear commitment to the principles of scientific research.
Admin note: To indicate your support for this statement, please leave a comment (prior registration required; once registerd, click link labeled “comment” and scroll to the bottom of the statement). In your comment, please give your full name and affiliation.
Sphere: Related Content
59 Responses to “Dismay over Syracuse Appointment of Dean”
I endorse this statement.
John Wills Lloyd, Ph.D.
Professor, U.Va. Curry School of Education
By JohnL on Oct 31, 2005
I fully agree with the statement.
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D.
Professor Emeritus
Curry School of Education
University of Virginia
By jimk on Oct 31, 2005
I fully agree with the statement.
Michael M. Gerber, Ph.D.
Professor & Emphasis Leader
Special Education, Disabilities, & Risk Studies
Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
By mgerb50 on Oct 31, 2005
I fully and unreservedly agree with the statement.
Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Education
Regent University
By markmos on Oct 31, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Kristin Sayeski, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Curry School of Education, University of Virginia
By kal4h on Oct 31, 2005
I fully agree with this statement.
Susan Osborne
Associate Profesor &
Coordinator, Graduate Program in Special Education
College of Education
North Carolina State University
By susan osborne on Oct 31, 2005
I agree with this statement.
Nancy Mamlin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Special Education
Reich College of Education
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC
By NMamlin on Oct 31, 2005
I strongly agree with this statement
Andrew Wiley
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, MA
By AndrewW on Oct 31, 2005
I agree with this statement.
Rick Brigham
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
By Rick Brigham on Oct 31, 2005
As a professional field of research and practice, we need to challenge an administrative appointment that so clearly misrepresents the premise and promise of education.
I fully endorese the above statement.
By gms on Oct 31, 2005
I strongly agree with this statement.
Jane E. Cole
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
By JaneC. on Oct 31, 2005
I endorse this statement.
John Umbreit
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
By jumbreit on Oct 31, 2005
I agree with this statement.
Matt Tincani, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Special Education
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
By tincanim on Oct 31, 2005
As a former special education administrator who dealt with many parents of severely disabled yongsters who were tragically misled by some of the research mentioned in this letter; and as a professor at leading research institutions in the US, where we attempted to model excellence in ecucational research, I concur with the concerns stated in this letter to Syracuse University.
By hmcgrady on Oct 31, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Christopher D. Jones Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Special Education
Longwood University
By cjonesva on Nov 1, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Christopher B. Denning
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
By chrisd on Nov 1, 2005
I strongly endorse this statement and urge Syracuse to seriously consider their decision.
Gary M. Sasso
Professor of Special Education
Chairperson, Department of Teaching and Learning
University of Iowa
By gms on Nov 1, 2005
I strongly endorse this statement.
Janine P. Stichter
Associate Professor
Department of Special Education
University of Missouri
By Janine Stichter on Nov 1, 2005
I strongly endorse this statement and urge Syracuse to seriously consider their decision.
Thomas P. Gumpel, PhD
Chair, Department of Special Education
School of Education
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, 91905
Israel
and
Department of Special Education and Disability Policy
Virginia Commonwealth University
School of Education
Oliver Hall
P.O. Box 842020
Richmond, VA 23284-2020
By tgumpel on Nov 1, 2005
I fully agree with this statement.
Melody Tankersley, PhD
Professor, Special Education
Kent State University
By Melody on Nov 1, 2005
I strongly agree with this statement.
James Kirk
Doctoral Student in Special Education
University of Iowa
By jfkirk on Nov 1, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Daniel P. Hallahan, Ph.D.
Charles S. Robb Professor of Education
Chair, Curr., Inst., and Spec. Ed.
University of Virginia
By DanH on Nov 1, 2005
I endorse this statement.
E. Stephen Byrd
Assistant Professor - Special Education
Department of Education
Elon University
By sbyrd on Nov 1, 2005
I am baffled by the selection of Dr. Bicklen as Dean of the College of Education at Syracuse. This is an anti-science appointment. I wholeheartedly endorse the opposition statement.
T. Steuart Watson
Professor and Chair
Educational Psychology
Miami University
By watsonts on Nov 2, 2005
I fully endorse this statement.
Maureen Conroy
Associate Professor
Departmetn of Special Education
University of Florida
By Maureen Conroy on Nov 2, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Joel Mittler, Ed. D.
Professor of Special Education
C.W. Post Campus, Long Island University
By jmittler on Nov 2, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Bryan G. Cook
Associate Professor
Department of Special Education
University of Hawaii
By bgcook on Nov 2, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Jeong-il Cho
Doctoral Candidate in Special Education
Department of Teaching and Learning
University of Iowa
By Jeong-il Cho on Nov 3, 2005
I agree completely with this statement.
Morten Haugland Ph.D, BCBA
Educational Consultant
Columbus, OH
By phdviking on Nov 3, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Lysandra Cook
Assistant Professor
Department of Special Education
University of Hawaii
By lhcook on Nov 3, 2005
I strongly endorse this statement and encourage Syracuse University to reconsider their decision.
Nancy A. Mundschenk
Associate Professor
Educational Psychology & Special Education
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
By Nancy Mundschenk on Nov 3, 2005
I strongly endorse this statement
David F. Bicard, Ph.D.
Research and Staff Development Coordinator
The Hawthorn Country Day School
By DavidBicard on Nov 4, 2005
I strongly endorse this statment.
Jim Gardner, Ph.D.
Professor, Special Education Program
Department of Educational Psychology
The University of Oklahoma
By Jim Gardner on Nov 5, 2005
As a teacher educator in New York, I am very disturbed by this appointment. I support this statement and encourage Syracuse University to reconsider Douglas Biklen’s appointment.
Sara Ernsbarger Bicard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Mercy College
Dobbs Ferry, NY
By Sara Bicard on Nov 5, 2005
I strongly endorse this statement.
David Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Special Education
Penn State University
By davidlee on Nov 6, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Jean B. Crockett
Associate Professor
University of Florida
Department of Special Education
By Jean Crockett on Nov 7, 2005
I completely endorse this statement.
Edward J. Sabornie, Ph.D.
Professor
Graduate Program in Special Education
College of Education
North Carolina State University
By specled on Nov 8, 2005
I endorse this statement.
Chris Schatschneider, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Florida Center for Reading Research
Florida State University
By Schatschneider on Nov 11, 2005
I fully endorse this statement.
For more information on FC see:
http://www.srmhp.org/0101/autism.html
Brandon Gaudiano, Ph.D.
NIH-Funded Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior,
Brown Medical School and
Psychosocial Research Program,
Butler Hospital
By bgaudiano on Nov 12, 2005
I agree with this statement. As a parent, a nurse, an activist for disability rights and against quackery and pseudoscience, I am dismayed at Douglas Biklen’s willful ignorance of the evidence against FC. Earnest belief and wishful thinking are no excuse for shoddy research and dangerous advocacy.
JeanneE Hand-Boniakowski, RN
Wells, Vermont
By Skeptyk on Nov 12, 2005
I fully endorse this statement.
James D. Herbert, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Dir. of Clinical Training
Associate Dean for Graduate Education
Drexel University
Mail Stop 988
245 N. 15th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192
By James.Herbert on Nov 12, 2005
I fully agree with this statement.
Lewis Polgrove, EdD.
Professor Emeritus
Indiana University
By polsgrov on Nov 13, 2005
I agree with the comments regarding Douglas Biklen’s research integrity.
By Bill Berdine on Nov 16, 2005
I fully endorse the statement concerning the mistake Syracuse University made in choosing Biklen as its Dean of the School of Education.
Edward J. Sabornie, Ph.D.
Professor of Special Education
NC State University
By specled on Nov 16, 2005
I endorse this statement. An advocate for pseudoscience should not be appointed Dean of a major university.
Ken Stephens, Ph.D.
By kstephens on Nov 17, 2005
I wholeheartedly endorse this statement.
Gina Green, PhD, BCBA
Lecturer, Public Health and Special Education, San Diego State University
Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Behavior Analysis, University of North Texas
Autism researcher and consultant
San Diego, CA
By Gina on Nov 17, 2005
I strongly concur with this statement.
Henry Schlinger, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Departments of Psychology
California State University, Los Angeles and Northridge
By hschling on Nov 17, 2005
I fully support the statement expressing disapproval of Douglas Biklen’s appointment to the post of Dean of the College of Education at Syracuse University.
The appointment of Biklen to the post of Dean, along with the public statements supporting his work on facilitated communication and related issues by the Syracuse Chancellor and Provost, indicate an endorsement by Syracuse University of pseudoscience, superstition, and the exploitation of persons with developmental disabilities.
James T. Todd, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Eastern Michigan University
By jimtemu on Nov 17, 2005
I am pleased to see that so many academics have troubled to state their concerns over the Biklen incident. This is a serious threat to the integrity of the educational system, not only at Syracuse, but in the USA as well.
James Randi
James Randi Educational Foundation
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
By randi on Nov 17, 2005
I strongly support this statement. Syracuse University should reconsider their appointment of Biklen as Dean. Furthermore, their support of the popularizer of a technique that has been repeatedly proven as bogus, in sound scientific studies, positions Syracuse University as a champion of pseudoscience.
Bill Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA
Director of Research
The New England Center for Children
33 Turnpike Rd
Southborough, MA 01772
By Bahearn on Nov 18, 2005
I strongly agree with this statement.
Shannon Gormley, PhD
Asst. Professor of Exceptional Education
Buffalo State College
Buffalo, NY
By seg189 on Nov 18, 2005
I agree with this statement.
Adel Najdowski, PhD, BCBA
Research and Development Manager
Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc.
Tarzana, CA
By anajdowski on Nov 18, 2005
I support this statement without reservation.
Anthony Cammilleri, Ph.D.
Director of Education
Child Study Center
Fort Worth, TX
76102
By Anthony Cammilleri on Nov 18, 2005
I strongly endorse this statement.
Dr. Diana Rogers-Adkinson
Professor of Special Education
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
By dra on Nov 30, 2005
I strongly support this statement.
Rachel S. F. Tarbox, PhD
Co-Director, Research & Development
Center for Autism & Related Disorders, Inc.
By Rachel Tarbox on Nov 30, 2005
I completely agree with this statement.
I am glad to see this initiative against some of these archaic practices.
Richard Weavers, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor
University of Cheongju
Republic of Korea
By will on Dec 20, 2005
I am in full agreement with this statement. Douglas Bilken is nothing less than an exceptional example of an irrational and dogmatic individual in a position of authority whose rejection of thoroughly validated evidence undermines the very intent of the position to which he has been appointed. The result is a disgrace to your university. I am appalled.
By dougfraser on Jul 12, 2006
I concur with this statement.
Brian J. Gorman, M.Sc., J.D.
Assistant Professor
Towson University
By bgorman on Oct 29, 2006