SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND CONSUMER SCIENCES Phone: 502-597-6044- Dr. Forde Phone: 502-597-6041- Dr. Clay https://www.kysu.edu/academics/college-acs/school-of-ehdcs/index.php

TO: Interim Provost Lucian Yates

FROM: Dr. Phillip H. Clay Jr.

DATE: February 8, 2021

RE: Response to Univ. Tenure & Promotion Letter

As a professional colleague of my peers at Kentucky State University, and the University and Tenure Committee, I respectfully disagree with their rationale for me not obtaining tenure and promotion this academic year. After spending 18 years of servicing, leading and instructing P-12 students on all levels in the Field of Special Education, involving all academic subjects towards graduation. The time spent on the P-12 level included various leadership roles administratively and academically to assist all students in becoming not only great students but also leaders in their community. My roles within P-12 extended to mentoring, coaching and various tutoring opportunities that has led to students receiving their high school diplomas, and becoming an asset in their community. All of the years working on the P-12 level took place in Title I schools of which involved students that were from low socio-economic backgrounds and communities that harvested many negative social influences that impacted the daily lives of each student. During my tenure at Fayette County Public Schools, I had the opportunity to work within the Bridge Tutoring Program at Kentucky State University for three years, of which included instructing and tutoring incoming freshman in entry level Math and Reading courses. My vast experiences in P-12 and the Bridge Program at KSU were the perfect transition to being hired on the higher education level within the School of Education.

After the first week as an Assistant Professor, I was given the task of leading the daily operations, management and instruction of every course within the Masters of Special Education (MASPE) program. Not knowing the level of despair the program was in, I had to re-write and edit many of the programs documents to meet the needs of the students in the program, and those to follow. The task included redesigning the marketing plan to sell the program to future students seeking a fast paced and highly engaged education that provides the tools needed to not only graduate, but pass the Praxis II on the first try. Furthermore, each student that completed field hours and student teaching received high measures of performance that led to 100% of the graduates being hired within a P-12 school district. The advising strategies and academic resources provided within the MASPE program allowed each student to become a strong influence in the classroom and community of which they instruct.