As of Tuesday, April 28th, Ivanete Blanco was denied tenure at Texas State University-San Marcos. This comes as a shock since the decision seems to run contrary to evaluation that had been conducted of her materials previously. The Department of Art and Design and College Committee sent along an approving recommendation to grant her tenure, but once the application worked its way through the system (it goes Department, Dean, College Committee, Provost, President, Board of Regents), it suddenly came back negative. This is highly unusual at most Universities; once a faculty member receives the blessing of their Department and College, tenure is almost always assured. For the Provost, President, or Board of Regents to go against the wishes of Ivanete's colleagues is unusual and insulting. The University evaluates faculty based on three categories: Research, Teaching, and Service. Ivanete's creative work (i.e. Research) has garnered much national and international acclaim. Beyond having her work reproduced in many of our industry publications, she was recently accepted into a Graphis publication. Many of you are aware of her indespensible contributions to the Communication Design program, so I won't enumerate her commitments to Service here. Further, I'm sure that more of you have experience with her in the classroom; students rave about her teaching and many actively seek out her classes well aware of the high standards and steadfast dedication she brings. Given that, according to University policy, Ivanete has met all expectations required to receive tenure, the decision to deny it of her after being assured of success can only indicate a more sinister political agenda at work. Please sign this petition to demonstrate to the administration of Texas State University that we are serious about keeping Ivanete Blanco.

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