News
Peter Hauser

For decades, deaf and hard-of-hearing students attending RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf have been earning associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. This year, the first three NTID-supported students are on track to earn their doctoral degrees from RIT.

From an early age, Jason Listman knew that he was called to serve and help people navigate through their challenges. But it was a connection with an RIT/NTID professor that steered him into the classroom, where he would soon stand out as an instructor, mentor, and facilitator.

A team of researchers, led by NTID, has discovered that improved guidance on COVID-19 management and healthcare navigation accessible to the deaf community is needed. The conclusion is based on studies that show a higher portion of deaf respondents reported challenges with accessing, understanding, and trusting COVID-19 information compared to their hearing peers.

NTID has announced personnel changes in support of the college’s Antiracism and Social Justice Plan, which is scheduled for release this fall. Alesia Allen has been named assistant vice president for diversity and inclusion; Joseph Hill will serve as assistant dean for ALANA faculty recruitment and retention; Thomastine “Tommie” Sarchet-Maher is assistant dean of ALANA Outreach, Access, and Success; and Peter Hauser has been named assistant dean of research mentoring.

Science magazine talks to Peter Hauser, research faculty in NTID, about accessibility and virtual conferences.

Tiffany Panko, M.D., has been named director of the Deaf Health Laboratory in the Research Center on Culture and Language at NTID. Panko, an alumna of RIT who received support from NTID, earned her undergraduate degree in applied arts and sciences, with concentrations in premedical and psychological studies, in 2008. She earned her MBA from Saunders College of Business in 2009, and her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2016.

Peter Hauser has spent the past two decades studying how deaf people develop, learn, grow and live. Today, he is at the helm of a new project—a research-based incubator—where junior faculty at NTID can work together to understand the role of cultural and linguistic diversity in deaf people’s lives.