From the NTID President's Office - April 2025

Congress passed a full-year Continuing Resolution that ensures continued support for NTID through FY 2025 at the same level we received in FYs 2023 and 2024. At the same time, we know the White House may be working on a rescissions package to send to Congress. It is unclear at this time whether the rescissions package will include targeted or across-the-board reductions that may impact NTID.

NTID’s noncontrollable costs (salary, benefits, utility charges, etc.) increase by approximately $3M annually. When our federal appropriation remains flat, we must find other ways to cover those costs. In order to manage a third consecutive year of flat funding and to prepare for the possibility of additional funding reductions, we have worked with NAC members and budget managers to implement an additional 13% “claw back” from controllable accounts in areas such as travel, professional contracts, hospitality, and equipment and furniture purchases. We are also carefully reviewing all open positions. 

These reductions are necessary to avoid impacting our academic programs and course offerings, access services positions, recruitment efforts, scholarship support for needy students, and state-of-the-art equipment purchases that are crucial to our students’ education. Our priority, as ever, is to fulfill our primary mission by ensuring that our students continue to receive a top-notch education.

We have turned our attention to the FY 2026 funding cycle and, as always, will work to educate our friends on both sides of the aisle on the value of the federal government’s investment in NTID and deaf education. NTID remains committed to its primary mission of preparing deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals for the global workforce. Your continued fiscal stewardship of our resources has served us well and will continue to be needed. 

While I greatly appreciate Congress’ ongoing support in ensuring access to NTID’s programs, I am even more appreciative of the work that you all are doing in these times. We have faced challenges like these before and have successfully demonstrated our ability to meet them.  I have no doubt that we will do so again.

Below is a statement from RIT/NTID and UR/URMC regarding cancellation of NIH funding for biomedical workforce diversity programs:

The National Institutes of Health has restructured its program aimed at enhancing diversity in the biomedical workforce nationwide, shifting its goals and focus to align with agency priorities.

To our knowledge, this decision resulted in the termination of many, if not all, awards associated with the program, including those tied to Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and University of Rochester/University of Rochester Medical Center.

RIT/NTID and UR/URMC awards impacted include the Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE), the Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training Program (Bridges), the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program, and the Rochester Postdoc Partnership (RPP), collectively known as the Deaf Scientist Pipeline.

For more than a decade this pipeline has been a vital initiative to support the development of Deaf scientists. As a result, we’ve seen steady growth in the acceptance and visibility of Deaf scientists, and a strong foundation has been built for preparing the next generation to contribute to the American workforce.

We are reviewing the termination notices and related guidance to determine whether there are any appropriate avenues for appeal. Our intent is to fully understand what may be possible in the short term while continuing to advocate for the long-term value and impact of this work.

Despite the challenges we now face, we remain committed to the progress we have made in the past decade to close the gaps that once hindered Deaf students from becoming Deaf scientists.

Danny Maffia, principal lecturer in the ASL-Interpreting Education Department received RIT’s Outstanding Teaching Award for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty. The award recognizes “excellence in teaching by non-tenure-track teaching faculty at RIT who have made a significant commitment to students at RIT.” Read the awards presentation program for all the details. Thank you, Danny, for your commitment to our students and the field of interpreting!

Submitted by Rick Postl
March 29 marked the beginning of open house season with events on April 5, 18 and 25. Campus visitation also ramps up during the month of April. Those who register for an open house are students with a serious interest in committing to RIT and may be split between several top-choice schools. Please share a welcome with visitors on campus and be ready to support Admissions for any special requests. April also is when we enlist the support of faculty and staff who can offer personalized insight and support to help ensure these prospective students become Tigers.

Submitted by David Strom
2024-25 PFF student enrollment as of April 4, 2025:

• Fall semester: 90 students
• Spring semester: 39 students
• Full-year: 228 students
• Unique students: 279
• Students taking two or more PFF courses: 78
• PFF course sessions: 72
• Active school partners: 30

Submitted by Erin Clegg
We're thrilled to announce the top eight teams advancing to the National TGL competition at RIT May 1-4. After exciting playoffs that concluded on March 26, these elite gaming squads have earned their spot in the championship:

• Lemont High School
• Washington School for the Deaf (Green Terriers)
• Texas School for the Deaf (Silver)
• Oklahoma School for the Deaf (Cursed Bison)
• Model Secondary School for the Deaf (Fort Eagles)
• Harry S. Truman High School
• Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (Gold)
• Out of Hear—a group of exceptional players from five different schools nationwide:
  • Bellevue West High School (Bellevue, Nebraska)
  • Cony High School (Augusta, Maine)
  • La Salle College Preparatory High School (Pasadena, California)
  • Old Fort High School (Old Fort, Ohio)
  • Johnsburg Central School (North Creek, N.Y.)

Watch the Action Live!

• Live stream at twitch.tv/tigergamingleague
• Attend in person May 4 (space is limited):
  • Final rounds: Orange Hall (ORN 1370, 1375 and 1380), 12:30-5:00 p.m.
  • Awards ceremony: Student Development Center (SDC 1300/1310), 5:30-6:00 p.m.

Don't miss this epic gaming showdown as these remarkable teams compete for the championship title and cash prizes.

Submitted by Krystina Ho
Hannah DeFelice, a Bridges trainee, led an NTID-wide professional development workshop titled “Seeing the Unseen: Making Course Materials and Media Accessible for All Learners” March 30. The workshop focused on the importance of visual media accessibility, covering topics such as the creation of alt text, image descriptions, and other strategies to ensure that course materials are accessible to all learners. Hannah provided valuable insights into how media content can be made more inclusive for Blind, DeafBlind, and Low Vision students who rely on assistive technologies.
Mentor Supported Shadowing Program (MSSP) Welcome four new MSSP trainees to our program! Please join us in congratulating:

• Elijah Strom, neuroscience 
• Savannah Brown, biomedical technology
• Ryker D’Angelo, pre-med English
• Miranda Garvey, neuroscience

Over the course of their training, they will have the opportunity to shadow deaf and hard-of-hearing health care professionals, gain hands-on experience, and expand their understanding of health care roles. 

Building Representation and Integrity in Health Care and Biomedical Science (BRIGHT IDEA) BRIGHT IDEA has new articles on its webpage—check out the BI*POC’s Quest series. The BI*POC’s Quest series focuses on different BIPOC deaf and hard-of-hearing students and their experiences in navigating their academic journey. For the latest article release, please subscribe to our email newsletter or follow us on our social media, @ntiddeafhub. 

Get to know Mary Karol Matchett, assistant vice president for student services, who is retiring this academic year.

Submitted by Maria Ocasio
Join me in welcoming our newest colleagues, and congratulating those in new positions.
New Hires:

• Andrew Manning, non-tenure-track faculty, Science and Mathematics department
• Jessica Wages, communications and outreach coordinator, SPACE Center

Job changes/promotions:

• Noel King, coordinator of student life programming
• Marissa Woodruff, director, Dyer Arts Center

• Congratulations to Skip Flanagan (now Dr. Skip Flanagan) for successfully defending his dissertation!
• Kudos to the following nominees for this year’s Presidential Awards for Outstanding Staff:
  • Angela Hauser, manager, interpreting team for COLA
  • Cynthia Cappa, Lexie Ryan, Department of Access Services scheduling team
  • Eric Moslow, technical director, NTID Department of Performing Arts
  • Fred Beam, coordinator, Sunshine 2.0
  • Tate DeCaro, associate director of Admissions and Marketing
• Congratulations to the cast, crew and creatives involved in NTID’s Performing Arts production of “The Cracked Nut.” It was a joy to witness these talented individuals put their stamp on Tchaikovsky’s classic “The Nutcracker.”
• Kudos to everyone involved in Deaf Day of Play at the Strong National Museum of Play. Special thanks to our ASLIE students for providing pro bono interpreting support for this exciting annual event.
• We’re thrilled to learn that Hannah DeFelice, an NTID-supported environmental sciences major in the College of Science, has been named RIT’s Outstanding Graduate Student for 2025.

• MasterCard ad highlights NTID student Jared Husson
• RIT/NTID announces launch of InterpNET resource database
• Monroe County launches new Deaf Equity Council
• More coverage:
• https://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/shaping-the-future-monroe-county-launches-new-deaf-equity-council/
• https://www.monroecounty.gov/dei-deafequitycouncil
• https://www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2025-03-24/rochester-and-monroe-county-have-formed-a-deaf-equity-council
• https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/2025/03/24/rochester-leaders-announce-creation-of-the-deaf-equity-council/82636390007/

• NTID Alumni Association Board Member Adam Stone featured in New York Times article
• RIT/NTID alum Daniel Durant featured on HBO’s ASL version of “The Last of Us”
• NTID partners with Strong Museum for “Deaf Day of Play”
• NTID alum Jerald Creer’s wedding featured in New York Times

• James Thomas, SVP ’95, ’98 accounting technology, ’03 business technology, passed suddenly on April 15, 2025.