The firing last month of the director and staff of the University of Texas at Arlington’s Center for Mexican-American Studies continues to draw a barrage of protests front campus and community activists.
In the latest salvo, president Robert Witt disbanded the center’s community advisory council. After a series of attempts to bring the president and the council together had failed, they finally met in a closed door session. At the conclusion of the meeting, the president terminated the council.
Witt defended his actions, saying the firings were proper and the dismissal of the council was based on their insistence that Jose Angel Gutierrez, the former director of the center, be reinstated.
According to Witt, the firing of Gutierrez was due to fiscal mismanagement and poor leadership, as evidenced by a money-losing Tejano concert held in the spring. Although student and community activists say the financial issue is a pretext for eliminating the center. Witt says, Under the circumstances. the dismissal of Dr. Gutierrez was appropriate. The resources of the center were not properly managed.” Gutierrez claims, “There is no mismanagement.” He accuses the administration of being anti-Mexican and is considering legal action because the institution has is no appeals process.
