From the NTID President's Office

NTID posted its five-year Antiracism and Social Justice Plan in fall 2020, and since that time, we have made substantial progress on the plan’s 33 initiatives. As of December 2021, 10 initiatives have been completed, and work on 20 others is and will continue to be on-going. Three of our action steps intersected with RIT’s Plan for Race and Ethnicity, and we will be working closely with the greater university on those.

Over the past couple of months, we have been developing a new website for the Antiracism and Social Justice Plan to make it easier for members of our community to see the progress we have made. We are eager to share information about the work that’s being done, and we invite you to visit the new website frequently for updates.

I am pleased to report that we are making progress on our goal to increase ALANA representation among faculty, staff, and administrators. As of September 2020, overall ALANA representation was 15%, and as of September 2021, it is 17%. From 2020 to 2021, we increased ALANA representation among administrators and managers by 12%—from 4% to 16%. For 2021, 37% of NTID’s new hires were ALANA, and 61% of our new interpreter hires were ALANA.

We believe the action steps in our Antiracism and Social Justice Plan, which focus on both recruitment and retention, will enable us to continue this positive trajectory and achieve our goal of 20% ALANA representation by 2025. Ideally, we will exceed this goal, and our desire is to continue to increase the goal over time.

I want to remind everyone that our work to identify and eradicate structural and systemic racism and enhance diversity and inclusion requires the ongoing commitment and support of everyone in the RIT/NTID community. Together, we will achieve our goals and make RIT/NTID a better place.

As we approach the end of the year, I want to extend my appreciation to the many faculty, staff, parents, alumni and friends who have chosen to include NTID in their annual charitable giving plans. I'd like to give a very special thank you to those who have chosen to join the Sentinel Society, contributions for which are allocated to unrestricted financial support for our students. Please contact Bryan Hensel, or call 585-475-6222 for information on making a year-end contribution. Thank you for your service to NTID and your financial support of our students.

Rain Bosworth is an assistant professor in NTID’s Department of Liberal Studies and director of the NTID Play (Perception, Language and Attention in Youth) Lab.

What is the best part of your job?

I love everything about my job! I am the college student who loved college so much that I never left.  I love when my students express themselves in my class. I love a stimulating classroom discussion. I enjoy designing research projects and writing grant proposals.

What would surprise people to learn about you?

Well, recalling what seems to surprise people about me:  1) that I was ridiculously shy as a kid; and 2) I think the weather in Rochester is better than in San Diego.  

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

My absolute favorite thing to do is to hike small mountains, run around the block, and do CrossFit, but I’ve never been that strong, and I’m not as active as I used to be. Now my favorite thing is taking my two dogs to the dog park and watching them roll in the mud—the muddier, the better! Then, I give them a spa treatment in the bath, and we dry off outside, sitting in the sun.

Ronald “Ronnie” Soriano is an Applied Arts and Sciences major, and one of the hosts of NTID’s video news magazine, Brick City News.

What is the best part of your major?

Taking Hospitality & Tourism Management classes to learn about travel, restaurants, and hotels around the world.

What would surprise people to learn about you?

I am the first one in my family to graduate from college in the United States.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I am passionate about making vlogs and entertainment videos. 

RIT’s ASL and Deaf Studies Community Center (RADSCC) is completing its 10th anniversary with a mission that includes the preservation of ASL and the achievements of the Deaf community and sharing information and resources with Deaf and hearing peers and colleagues.

Due to construction of the Student Hall for Exploration and Development, also known as the SHED, the RADSCC is temporarily relocated to a classroom in the Gordon Field House (GOR-1540). It will remain in its temporary location until construction of the SHED is completed in 2023. 

RADSCC continues our commitment to providing a space where faculty, staff, and students can interact and learn about Deaf culture, Deaf heritage, and American Sign Language (ASL). Most importantly, on behalf of the center, we appreciate your support of our DeafMute banquets and ASL Lecture Series attendance over the years.

Contact RADSCC Coordinator Jeanne Behm or visit the website to learn more about ASL and Deaf culture.

• RIT transforms into XR playground for annual Frameless Symposium
• Live theater returns to RIT with NTID’s production of “Angels in American Part One: the Millennium Approaches”
• RIT to build inclusive Cyber-Protection Apprenticeship for cybersecurity workers
• Ceramics class employs modern fabrication processes to connect with past
• Power 30 rankings for higher education (subscriber content)
• RIT ranked among top 20 universities for diversity
• RIT/NTID partners with Garth Fagan Dance
• NTID Center on Employment helps companies hire deaf or hard-of-hearing students
• Sunshine 2.0 performance
• Progress continues on makerspace and performing arts complex
• RIT/NTID project hopes to reduce global deaf literacy gap
• RIT/NTID & College of Liberal Arts student recognized nationally for tennis skills
• RIT surpasses $76 million in research funding in 2020-21 pandemic year
• Thousands enjoy Brick City Weekend events
• RIT researchers part of $15 million NSF grant aimed at reducing food waste
• New study on faculty compensation funded by NSF
• RIT recognized as a top 20 STEM university for workforce diversity
• NTID PLAY Lab initiates new research on cognitive development in infants and children

• Thomas Warfield has been chosen as RIT’s 2022 Let Freedom Ring featured keynote speaker. The program takes place 10:30-11:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 17, in Ingle Auditorium, with a reception 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. in the SAU Fireside Lounge.
• Bob Brewer, manager of NTID Engineering Services, received ALDAcon’s President’s Appreciation Award for his dedication to the organization.
• The following members of the NTID community have completed the RIT Cultural Humility Certification process:
  • Stefane Carlson, associate interpreter, NTID
  • Wendi Gammon, interpreting coordinator, NTID
  • Jennifer Horak, interpreting coordinator, NTID
  • Erin Pickett, audiologist II, NTID
• RIT-RISE student Mikayla Fors won an outstanding poster award at the 2021 Annual Biomedical Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). ABRCMS is a national conference highlighting the research achievements of underrepresented students in biomedical research fields. It is typically attended by over 4,000 people from the U.S. and its territories. Mikayla is the first RIT-RISE student to win this award since we have been attending ABRCMS starting in 2017.
• RIT/NTID biochemistry major Antonia Gomes, won the best research presentation award at the recent Sigma Xi annual meeting. The award is accompanied by induction into Sigma Xi, a scientific research honor society.
• Professor Emeritus Harry Lang’s book on the history of captioning, “Turn on the Words: Deaf Audiences, Captioning, and the Long Struggle for Access,” has been published.