Reinstate Kim Bridgford as WCU Poetry Center Director

This decision will turn out to be a major embarrassment in the academic world.

Removal of Dr. Kim Bridgford as Director of the Poetry Conference is a great injustice that must be remedied soon. How insulting and unjust it is that the WCU Administration has given no clear or fair reason for the abrupt dismissal of a woman who was doing a stellar job. If someone were to ask me to list people I think are beyond reproach, Kim Bridgford is the first name that comes to mind. She is quite respected and admired within the poetry community. Kim Bridgford has my unconditional support. In the twenty years I have known her, she has been an unwavering pillar of competence, kindness, generosity, and integrity. She is inspirational, talented, accomplished, and devoted. As a poet, teacher, and conference attendee, I fully support this petition.

I support the reinstatement of Kim Bridgford as Director of the WCU Poetry Center, for reasons that are beautifully and thoroughly expressed above by Ned Balbo. Be assured that the negative repercussions of her dismissal will reverberate for a long time.

Dr. Bridgford taught my introduction to poetry in 1994. It was inspiring. I went on to get my master in poetry from Sarah Lawrence. Thank you, Kim, for a lifetime of lyricism. The Poetry Festival must go on!!!

Reinstate.

I am one of the many who have never been able to attend the West Chester University Poetry Conference, but have followed attendees' reports closely. The excellence and dedication of Dr. Bridgford's leadership has been apparent even from this distance. Why has she been removed so abruptly from a job she was doing so well? It is hard to believe that this in the best interests of the conference, the poetry center, or the university.

I support this call to reinstate Dr. Kim Bridgford as Director of the WCU Poetry Center and Conference.

I cannot believe this to be true. The very nature of Kim, her belief in the written word as an expression of art and life... And her unique ability to make poetry accessible to all is unsurpassed. I do not understand how in any way, shape or form this is a good decision for WCU. I am both confused and concerned about and by the administration.

Dr. Kim Bridgford has transformed West Chester University Poetry Center and Conference from strong regional institutions into national treasures and centers for poetry. Her combination of artistic vision, administrative finesse, collaborative ethic, and entrepeneurial success should have earned her tenure and ratification in her position as Director. This inexplicable removal is a tragedy for the Center and for the hundreds of poets, scholars, and emerging writers who have come to regard West Chester as an intellectual and spiritual home.

Having heard only good things about the conference, I can't help but be suspicious when its female director is suddenly ousted and the only reasons given are vague and laden with Dilbertesque corporate buzzwards.

Kim Bridgford should have received our deepest thanks for extending and expanding a strong conference. Anything else is shameful.

I appreciate Kim Bridgford's leadership of the West Chester Poetry Conference, as well as her kind spirit. I am grateful for her work, and so I am surprised and saddened to hear of this situation. I hope the University will reconsider its decision.

Prof. Kim Bridgford has done an outstanding job leading the WCU poetry conference and the Poetry Center. Reinstate her.

When Kim was appointed a few years ago, the converstaion all around was that could not have been a better choice. If anything, Kim has exceeded those expectations.

Kim Bridgford has done an exemplary job directing the West Chester Poetry Conference. She has built on and enhanced the Conference’s legacy, moving it towards greater inclusivity and a more central role in the emerging poetry landscape of the future without compromising its traditional strengths in formalism and academic excellence. Having taught on the faculty of the very first West Chester Poetry Conference and returned to the conference numerous times since then to teach, I care deeply about the fate of this unique gathering. During Kim’s tenure, I have seen no reason for anything but the greatest admiration for her work as Director. Knowing the importance of continuity and momentum for the success of such an important literary institution, I urge the administration of West Chester University to rethink the situation regarding this prestigious and nationally-known conference, which Kim has been leading so ably, and to rescind their recent decisions.

Kim Bridgford has provided impeccable leadership of the West Chester Conference and the Poetry Center for the past several years. The Conference and the community are both thriving, thanks to her vision, her commitment, and her energy. Her sudden removal, without any apparent cause, seems both unwise and unjust. I urge the University to reconsider this rash action and to reinstate Kim Bridgford as Director. The Conference--and the West Chester Poetry community--needs her.

Kim has made her mark on the West Chester Conference, directing it with wisdom, broad-mindedness, rigour and grace. Under her leadership, the Conference became more inclusive and therefore, more dynamic. Her removal from this post is an egregious error. I call upon my friends and colleagues to rally round Dr. Bridgford and I urge the West Chester administration to reconsider.

Kim Bridgford has been a remarkable director and should be reinstated immediately.

I went to the WC conference for the first time in 2012 and met Kim. I was planning to book for next year's event and am extremely disappointed that it is now not taking place (and for an unnecessary reason). Kim's dismissal is totally incomprehensible to everyone who knows her and knows what she has achieved. Please reinstate her and keep the reputation of WCU intact!

"Opaque" indeed. Those of us who have loved and built the Conference all these years deserve much better.