Professor's resignation causes alarm

The College of Education's lack of advocacy for programs in the Language, Reading and Culture department might have been a reason for head Richard Ruiz's (above) acceptance of a position at the University of Miami's School of Education, and resignation as of August - despite offers from college dean John Taylor (below). Graduate students have expressed doubt over the department's strength and future after his leaving.

The resignation of a well-liked professor in the UA College of Education has caused a stir in the department.

University of Arizona faculty and graduate students in language, reading and culture are upset over the resignation of department head Richard Ruiz.

June 10, Ruiz, a tenured professor, accepted a position as chair of the teaching and learning department at the University of Miami's School of Education.

"Dr. Ruiz is a professor for the students," said Mariella Espinoza-Herold, an LRC doctoral candidate. "The quality of our education will suffer" with his departure.

Herold, who wrote a letter to Provost Paul Sypherd on June 11 supporting Ruiz' leadership of the department, said his announcement that he will resign in August is causing a dismantling of the department. She said students are concerned about LRC's future and they have a right to know why such an integral member of their department is leaving.

Ruiz joined the LRC department in January 1986, and has been the department head for five years.

Marcia Brenden, an LRC doctoral candidate and editorial assistant for The Bilingual Research Journal, of which Ruiz is editor, said she understands that the biggest factor in his resignation is Education College Dean John Taylor's lack of advocacy for the LRC department. Brenden said the department has one of the largest number of doctoral and master students on campus.

LRC had 120 doctoral and 124 masters students in the spring.

Ruiz said he is not ready to discuss whether Taylor is to blame for his departure.

LRC professor Kenneth Goodman said members of the department made as much of an effort as they could to let Sypherd and Taylor know Ruiz is a leader who is needed in the department. Nevertheless, he said they made little effort to keep him at the universi ty.

However, Taylor said he and Provost Sypherd offered Ruiz increased funding for LRC if he decided to remain at UA. The offer, which totaled more than $200,000, included a three-year guarantee that if a professor retires or resigns, the money from that sala ry would remain within the department.

Taylor said the offer also included four in-state graduate tuition waivers over five years and a 20 percent base-salary increase for Ruiz, which he could also apply to another faculty member's salaries or to department projects.

Taylor said he appointed Ruiz as head of the department and supported his promotion from associate professor to full professor.

Referring to and his financial offers to keep Ruiz at UA, Taylor said, "I wouldn't have done any of those things if I didn't think he was important.

"We made an effort," he said.

Ruiz said money was not a factor in his decision to leave the university. He said he did not actively seek the job in Miami, but the University of Miami's School of Education is ready to move forward.

"I'm not sure you can say the same thing about people who work in this college," he said.

Debbie Smith, an LRC doctoral candidate, said only 11 full faculty members will remain after Ruiz leaves in August.

"Arizona is just letting him go, and other professors will have to carry the burden, which means I'm going to get less," she said. "I'm not getting what is rightfully mine."

Luis Moll, an LRC professor, said Ruiz' departure is a routine part of academia. He said it is a major loss though, and replacing him will be difficult.

In the last four years, Taylor said two other LRC professors resigned, one has been on a leave of absence for the last three years and another has been on a partial leave for about five years.

He said Ruiz' department approved the leaves of absence, and he said they told him they had enough faculty members to cover their department.

Ruiz said LRC students want to understand why faculty members are leaving.

"Students perceive this as the erosion of their program," he said.

However, Goodman said that because the department's professors are nationally and internationally known, it is not uncommon for them to get offers from other universities.

He said each time a professor leaves, department morale decreases.