NTID Office of Diversity and Inclusion

NTID Diversity Group (NDG)

The NTID Diversity Group (NDG) is a faculty and staff volunteer group committed to promoting the best possible learning, living and working experience for AALANA (Asian, Latino, African, and Native American) members of the RIT/NTID community. NDG's focus is community involvement, professional development and being a resource for the RIT/NTID community.

RIT Division of Diversity & Inclusion (DDI)

The RIT Division of Diversity & Inclusion works collaboratively with academic and administrative units to provide a holistic range of services that enhance access and success for historically underrepresented students, faculty and staff, support education and scholarship, and ensure a welcoming, inclusive, vibrant and accessible environment for everyone.

NTID Faculty Fellowship (NFF)

The mission of the NTID Faculty Fellowship (NFF) is to work towards diversifying the faculty by preparing post-secondary STEM faculty from historically underrepresented groups to teach DHH college students. The program provides qualified Fellows with up to three years of mentored experiences, opportunities, and resources to prepare them for academic careers working with the aforementioned population.

The Randleman Program

The vision of the Randleman Program is to recruit and retain interpreters of color across the field of interpreting. It is fundamental that the interpreting field reflects the unique, diverse, and rich cultural experiences within the Deaf community. By supporting and increasing representation of interpreters of color, we celebrate how the field of interpreting can flourish through cultural competency and diverse perspectives.

International Educational Outreach (IEO)

The mission of the center for International Educational Outreach (IEO) at NTID is to expand education opportunities for Deaf communities outside of the United States by collaborating with Deaf leaders and institutions of other countries to build centers of excellence in Deaf education. International Educational Outreach works to expand research and collaboration opportunities between NTID and international organizations for the Deaf.

A long-standing tradition in the NTID community, the Black Heritage Month Celebration Luncheon has evolved since its beginnings in the early 1990s. It began as a simple sharing of lunch among a small group of faculty and staff and, as of February 2020, is now a community-wide event with guest speakers. This transformation is the result of the efforts of Johnnie “JB” Brown, an NTID staff member who retired in 2020. You can learn more about the history of the luncheon from this downloadable PDF.

JB is also responsible for the establishment of the Johnnie “JB” Brown Black Heritage Month Celebration Endowment Fund, which is nearly fully funded and will cover all costs associated with the annual luncheon in perpetuity. If you would like to give to the fund, you can easily do so online here.