Letter to Dean of Student Affairs

Professor Ko Huei-Chen
Dean of Student Affairs
National Cheng Kung University
Tainan, Taiwan

cc: Control Yuan; Ministry of Education; Department of Higher
Education; Professor Kao Chiang, President of National
Cheng Kung University;

4 August 2003

Dear Dean Ko,

Please keep me informed, no later than Tuesday morning (5 August
2003), about your intentions regarding the case of
Lily Chen, who wrote a secret, malicious letter attacking a teacher. I
am committed to resolving this case before the
beginning of next semester.
I hope we can resolve this case within the university and within a
few days at most, including a meeting with this student,
a personal apology, and a formal statement from the university. But, if
not, I am fully committed to resolving this case,
including a formal apology from the university and a personal apology
from the student, before the beginning of next
semester, using whatever legal channels available to me.
I remind you once again of your responsibility, as a dean of a
public university, to act in accordance with laws and moral
guidelines, not merely convenience or other influences. As it is, you
have allowed this case to drag on for years now. This
is completely unacceptable. Apparently both a dean and her vice-dean
have been unable to handle a case that officials at
other universities might have handled in less than a day.
At the very least, a dean should respond when a professor requests
a supervised meeting with a student. After all, a
dean of students is supposed to administer to faculty needs concerning
students. This is why there is an Office of Student
Affairs. A dean of students is not supposed to decide for herself what
issues matter and what issues don't, or otherwise
how to dispose of a case. The only proper way to dispose of a case is
the formal way. Any other way is unacceptable,
or there would be no point to an Office of Student Affairs.
No responsible official would allow such a case involving a
student's misbehavior to simply "disappear" without even
scheduling a meeting between a malicious student and the injured
professor.
In any case, I am committed to resolving this case, as soon as
possible, and according to laws, moral principles, and
academic standards that are shared by other free democracies.

Sincerely,

Professor Richard de Canio
(06) 237 8626