By Jonathan Stankiewicz
Two years ago the Robert C. Vance Distinguished Lecturer was Steve Forbes.
This year the CCSU Foundation Inc. is bringing former United States Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to campus.
The lecture on Nov. 8th, at 7:30 p.m., is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. The deadline for ticket orders is Oct. 25.
A dinner with a reception is planned before the lecture. Tickets are also required for this, but are not free. Tickets cost $125 per person and include reserved seating for the lecture.
From the Vance Lecture Series page, on the CCSU website, it says, in small print, that: “The series is supported by a grant from the Robert C. Vance Charitable Foundation. With special thanks to Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.” The grant is being used by the CCSU Foundation.
Robert C. Vance was a widely respected journalist who served as editor and publisher of The Herald in New Britain from 1951 to 1959 and has donated to the CCSU Foundation Inc., not only for other speakers in the Vance Lecture Series, but to CCSU as a whole with the Vance Academic Center in 2000 and the Robert C. Vance Endowed Chair in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2003, among others.
“The CCSU Foundation Inc., was created in 1971 [as a non-profit organization], at the request of the University, as a vehicle to obtain private contributions to support educational programs and research at Central Connecticut State University,” according to the CCSU Foundation’s webpage on the CCSU website. It must be made clear that the Foundation is in no way an entity of the State of Connecticut nor an official part of CCSU .
“This Vance Lecture Series isn’t funded by the university but they still use our space they use our name and I think we would be doing our community a better service if we had a greater variety of speakers coming in,” said English professor Candace Barrington. She isn’t clear how the money from the $125 per person tickets will be disbursed, whether it be for Dr. Gates himself or if that money will go to a scholarship fund for students.
Nick Pettinico, Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement, said that proceeds from the event go to the Robert C. Vance Endowed Chair in Journalism and Mass Communication at CCSU.
The timing of such a speaker as Dr. Gates may not be what the Foundation thought it could have been.
“Right now students and workers are rising up across the globe, asserting their democratic rights and fighting back against the economic crisis,” said an upset Chris Hutchinson, a CCSU student. “Yet, the Vance Lecture series chooses the least inspiring person imaginable, Robert Gates, a Washington bureaucrat and war criminal, responsible for the deaths of over a million Iraqis.” Hutchinson, who will be protesting with other students when Gates comes to campus, admitted that he was furious when he found out about Gates coming to campus and said that Gates doesn’t represent the ideas and aspirations of CCSU students, said Hutchinson and other students.
“CCSU has a long history of inviting kind of conservative people,” said English professor Burlin Barr. He believes that CCSU is sending a bad message to pay someone, possibly a lot of money, and to then have a dinner, costing $125 per person, which sends a message that access is something that’s bought. To him, he feels that goes against everything CCSU and even what higher education stands for.
James Mulrooney, professor of biomolecular sciences agrees with Barr in that CCSU has hosted possibly controversial people before on campus.
“I do not have a problem with Robert Gates coming, at all,” said Mulrooney. “I may not like the man, I may not agree with what he does, but he does have the right to speak.” Mulrooney is glad to have Gates on campus because whether you agree with him or not you hear his point of view. Mulrooney sees this as an educational opportunity for CCSU to have our own campus discussion about it. Mulrooney doesn’t agree with censoring people and will not be protesting Gates when he comes to campus.
As of Friday, Oct. 21, the CCSU Student Government Association had not purchased or reserved any tickets for either the lecture or reception and dinner for students.
The Washington Speakers Bureau, which Gates is affiliated with, has yet to return any phone calls or emails sent to specifically Co-CEO of the Bureau, Harry Rhoads, Jr.