NTID Diversity-related Initiatives

It’s important to understand what steps we already have taken to combat racism and support diversity, equity and inclusion. Here is a brief summary:

NTID has increased the ALANA diversity of our faculty and staff over the past three years from 12 to 15%.
NTID created the Office of Diversity and Inclusion under the initial leadership of Stephanie Albert in 2018. She was making significant connections and progress when she passed away suddenly after 18 months in the office. Pam Christopher took on the role while search for a permanent director was underway, and Dr. Alesia Allen was appointed to the position on July 1, 2020, following a national search.
NTID created a Director of ALANA Faculty and Staff Recruitment and Retention position within the Diversity Office to visit historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Latinx universities to recruit faculty and staff. Dr. Charlotte Thoms held this position for three years until her retirement this year. We soon will be announcing the appointment of another ALANA senior faculty member to fill this role.
NTID advocated for the establishment of an Associate Ombudsperson who is fluent in ASL to serve as a source of support for students, faculty and staff who needed direct communication on issues and concerns within the RIT/NTID community. Following a national search, this position was filled in 2019 by an RIT graduate, Ashley Meyer, who is a Child of Deaf Adults, fluent in ASL and had worked in Residence Life prior to her new role.
NTID created the Randleman Program, an interpreter mentoring project under the Department of Access Services, to enable up to three interpreters of color to spend 2-3 years on campus being mentored in the interpreting profession. These are full time positions with benefits, and we plan to expand this effort to include more interpreters of color.
NTID created the NTID Faculty Program for Academia to enable three prospective faculty members to spend up to three years in visiting faculty positions where half their time is dedicated to being mentored and preparing for faculty careers at NTID. This is envisioned primarily as an ALANA faculty pipeline development effort.
To address the needs of students who traditionally have not been accepted into a major at NTID, we created a Summer Transition Program last year with our first class of 20 students. More than 70% of participants were AALANA students, and they achieved a retention rate of 90% this year. We are continuing this program and planning to expand it to several regions of the nation to help students successfully prepare for transition to college. There is no charge for this program, and we offer generous financial support, including free laptops to participants.
NTID established a special stipend for lecturers to pursue terminal degrees in order to qualify for tenure-track positions.
NTID has hosted a number of workshops and professional development activities over the past three years focused on diversity issues. A number of these workshops have involved external speakers as our Diversity Office has been very engaged in bringing speakers to campus. We also have hosted and participated in workshops hosted by Dr. Taj Smith, RIT director of diversity education, and continue to work closely with his office to provide additional training to faculty and staff.

The above are some of the key highlights in our diversity-related efforts over the past few years, and while we are pleased with the work that has been done thus far, we recognize that there is more to do.