From the NTID President's Office - December 2024

Submitted by Gary Behm

• Effective Jan. 1, 2025, Professor James Mallory will transfer to the NTID Learning Consortium for a special assignment supporting the director of the NTID Center for Workforce Development (NCWD) in securing industry partners, ensuring technical coursework aligns with required outcomes, and supervising any external technical instructors hired to deliver technical coursework. Please join me in congratulating Jim on this assignment.
• NTID’s Emeritus Faculty list is now available on the NTID Academic Affairs website.

Submitted by Krystina Ho

Image description: U-RISE, Bridges, SHARP, and Deaf Hub teams smile into the camera with a large sign, “ABRCMS” and its colorful circle.

• Deaf Culture Day at Rochester Museum and Science Center: We want to give a shout out two amazing student sonographers who joined Elizabeth Ayers during Deaf Culture Day at the Rochester Museum and Science Center:
  • Tyler Cardoso, a third-year student in diagnostic medical sonography
  • Caty Goodman, a fourth-year student in diagnostic medical sonography

• 2024 ABRCMS Recognitions: Deaf Hub went to the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from November 13 to 16. We would like to recognize all students from U-RISE, Bridges, and SHARP who worked so hard on their poster presentations and were eager to participate in the professional development sessions:
  • Hannah DeFelice
  • Nicole Taboada
  • Ellie Rose Cullagh
  • Morgan Singleton
  • Anna Nack
  • Hayden Hernandez-Orr, a recipient of 2024 ABRCMS Presentation award in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Public Health
  • Katherine Knight
  • Miranda Garvey
  • Kaelyn Coates
  • Ulysses Hampton
  • Oluwaseyi “Seyi” Onifade

In addition, we want to recognize the panelists who participated in the panel discussion, “Deaf Hub: Advocating for Researchers in Academia” moderated by Dyl Levenson, Deaf Hub’s biomedical science training grant administrator:

• LeeAnne Valentine, Deaf Hub’s director of diversity in healthcare and biomedical science
• Paul Craig, U-RISE co-director
• Elizabeth Ayers, Deaf Hub’s director of healthcare mentoring
• Lea Michel, professor and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for RIT’s School of Chemistry and Materials Science
• Elaine Smolock, director of writing services and training grant development in graduate education and postdoctoral affairs and PREP co-director from University of Rochester

In addition, Elizabeth Ayers also served as judge for 13 poster presentations and co-moderated four oral presentations.

• Kudos/New Employee Recognition: Please join us in welcoming new staff member Roshan Mathew as engineering research assistant to the XR-ASL team within the Deaf Hub, which is headed by Wendy Dannels.

Submitted by Charles McFadden

• As of Nov. 20, 2024, Project Fast Forward, led by David Strom, has 254 students registered in 62 course sections, including 62 students registered for more than one section, across 28 partner high schools. This dual-credit program enables high school students to earn college course credit from RIT/NTID while being taught by their high school teachers. Many of these students then attend RIT/NTID with their course credit counting toward completing their degree requirements.
• The Tiger Science Challenge’s egg drop competition attracted 120 registrations, making it one of our more popular science challenges to date. The competition included two categories: most creative and tallest drop. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners in each category, encouraging scientific creativity and problem-solving among young participants.
• At Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Pittsburgh, 54 students participated in STEM activities hosted by Trisha Gard, Maggie Donaldson, Roxann Richards, and Yvette Chirenje. The program closed with a presentation from NTID Admissions.
• The Oct. 28-30 NRSC- and DeafTEC-funded NTID Math and Science Conference was attended by middle school, high school and community college teachers from 35 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada. Teachers came to learn strategies for teaching math, science and STEM concepts while also learning what RIT/NTID has to offer deaf and hard-of-hearing students. This was the fifth conference coordinated by a planning team led by Theresa Johnson, Donna Lange, and Kimberley Taylor.
• The ACT Prep Course for deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students began in 2019 as a collaboration between NTID, the Ohio School for the Deaf, and Ohio Vocational Rehabilitation. Due to COVID, the course, attended by mainstream students across the state, was taught entirely online by qualified instructors, supported by NTID tech, interpreting, and captioning staff. Since that time, additional states have partnered with the core group. This online instruction was given to students from Lexington School for the Deaf, Rochester School for the Deaf, and Ohio with the same support from NTID. In the last two years, these students were brought to the NTID campus for in-person ACT prep instruction and participated in college preparation and STEM activities with extensive exposure to RIT/NTID and all we have to offer. Nov. 6-10, NTID hosted 16 students with a full program schedule coordinated by Theresa Johnson and Erin Clegg with support from Kimberley Taylor, Yvette Chirenje, Eunyoung Doucet, David Monahan, and Admissions staff. The students even met current RIT/NTID students who had completed prior ACT prep coursework.
• NTID hosted the fall NTID/SCD-VR Task Force meeting Nov. 12-14. This group, formed in 2021, meets on campus twice a year. The taskforce provides a venue for the exchange of information about current trends, policies, and procedures within the NTID college system and the 12 VR (vocational rehabilitation) states represented. Through this exchange of information, the task force is able to discuss benefits and address barriers that impact student collegiate and employment success. Coordinated by Denise Hampton and Theresa Johnson, the task force benefits greatly from discussions and presentations from academic, student services, and campus support services faculty and staff. The next meeting is in April 2025.

NTID’s Communications, Marketing and Multimedia Services Department has created an all-in-one form to streamline the process of requesting multiple services such as videography, photography and social media.

This month’s Behind the Stripes features Ernie Roszkowski, principal lecturer in the Department of Visual Communications Studies.

Submitted by Maria Ocasio

Join me in welcoming our newest colleagues and congratulating those with promotions and new positions.

New hires:

• Roshan Mathew, engineering research assistant, Deaf Hub
• Joseph Vicario, support specialist, Client Services

Transfer to new position:

• Madeline Grandon, real-time captioning coordinator III, Access Services

Promotions for captionists, Department of Access Services

• Lindsey Burchell, captionist II
• Jenna Bygall, captionist II
• Christopher Ertel, captionist III
• Alexander Jones, captionist III
• Emily Pruden, captionist III
• Timothy Royce, captionist II
• Merica Stiles, captionist II
• Jessica Taylor, captionist II

• Jessica Williams, interim department chair, Thomastine Sarchet, associate professor, both in the Department of Deaf Education, and Dawn Walton, research associate and project interpreter from NTID's Summer Transition Program, co-authored “What Can Deaf and Hard of Hearing First Year Community College Students Teach Us About Reading?” in “Communication Disorders Quarterly.”
• Patrick Graham, department chair, and Jennifer Gentzke, lecturer, both in NTID’s Master of Science program in Secondary Education, co-authored "Language, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youngsters, the IEP and a Pathway to Literacy" in Odyssey Magazine, alongside colleague Raschelle Neild.
• Jenna Stewardson, research program coordinator for NTID, and Emma Kane, a third-year public policy student and Deaf Hub’s chief research assistant, presented at the 2024 American Public Health Association conference in Minneapolis. Stewardson led a roundtable session titled “Perspectives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing People with Uterus Seeking Abortion Care: A Thematic Analysis of Their Experiences,” which invited attendees to discuss abortion care challenges for this underserved population. Kane presented a poster titled “Potential Applications of Gaming in Sex Education for DHH Individuals,” highlighting gaps in sex education for deaf and hard-of-hearing young adults.
• Denise Kavin and Amy Stornello attended the Deaf Organization Executives Summit in New Orleans as invited facilitators as NTID sponsored the event with Innivee Strategies. They interacted with 40 deaf/hard of hearing (and a few hearing!) people and strategized ways to address common issues/themes and challenges together. It was heartwarming to see leaders from across the United States as well as from Bulgaria, Canada and Australia!
• November 18, Amy Stornello presented at SERID (Southeast Regional Institute on Deafness) on “Addressing Campus Sexual Assault/Discrimination: RIT/NTID’s Approach to Working with the D/HH Population” in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
• Congratulations to the following NTID personnel who have achieved the Cultural Humility Certificate through RIT’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion:
  • Justin Anderson, interpreter, NTID
  • Pam Christopher, senior employment advisor, NTID
  • Charles Coleman, online program support specialist, NTID
  • Kayla Donnellan, interpreter, NTID
  • Nicole Holtz, associate interpreter, NTID
  • Catherine Lyon, interpreter, NTID
  • Meg Murphy, associate interpreter, NTID
  • Donna O'Brien, senior interpreter, NTID
  • Ernest Roszkowski, principal lecturer, NTID Department of Visual Communications Studies
  • Alexandria Schoonover, senior program coordinator, NTID Office of External Affairs
  • Rachel Seaton, associate interpreter, NTID

• Passion for prioritizing accessibility inspires alumna Valerie Horn
• RIT’s NTID presents “Peter and the Starcatcher”
• Profile of alums Robert and Susan Mather
• Signs bring greater understanding to chemistry
• Thriving as a deaf chemistry student
• NTID President Gerard Buckley announces plan to step down in 2025
  • Longtime leader of RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf stepping down from role
  • NTID President Gerry Buckley stepping down in 2025
  • Buckley to step down in 2025
  • NTID President announces plan to step down in 2025 (subscriber content)
• Bakery gives back to deaf students this Thanksgiving

• Oluwaseyi "Seyi" Onifade, 2023 NTID (general science), 2024 University Studies (applied arts and sciences), graduate student in health science management and a scholar in the Rochester Bridges to the Doctorate program. No funeral or memorial service arrangements are available at this time. For more information, contact Nancy Popolizio or Beth Drumm.