Jane Fernandes

Jane Kelleher Fernandes (born August 21, 1956 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is a deaf educator and was the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina Asheville. On April 15, 2014, Fernandes was named the 9th President of Guilford College. She succeeded Kent Chabotar on July 1, 2014, becoming the first woman to hold this position. On August 26, 2015, Fernandes was formally inaugurated as the first female and the ninth president of Guilford College. Fernandes was the former President Designate of Gallaudet University. On October 29, 2006, the board of trustees of Gallaudet University voted to terminate the appointment of Fernandes, who had been the subject of protests following her appointment as President Designate six months earlier.

Fernandes was raised in Worcester and is the daughter of Richard Paul and Mary Kathleen (Cosgrove) Kelleher. Her family chose to raise her in an oral education program, meaning her education focused on teaching her to speak. Her mother was deaf and was raised orally, as well. When Fernandes grew older she made the decision to learn American Sign Language (ASL) and develop her involvement with the deaf community.

Fernandes attended Trinity College, earning a B.A. degree in French and comparative literature, and the University of Iowa, where she earned her M.A. and Ph. D., both in comparative literature.

After graduating from Iowa, she worked for Northeastern University before coming to Gallaudet as chair of Sign Communication. Her next move was to Hawaii where she established an Interpreter Training Program and served for five years as the director of the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind. In 1995 she returned to Gallaudet to become the vice president for the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. In 2000, she was named provost of the university by President I. King Jordan, who appointed her without consulting the faculty, a move which Jordan called "a terrible mistake".

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