From the NTID President's Office - December 2022

President Buckley signing to a group of students
 

From the NTID President's Office

December 2022

As we put the finishing touches on 2022, I am reflecting on all we have accomplished this year. With your help, we have been able to:

  • Launch new academic programs.
  • Host the NTID Career Fair in person again.

  • Expand research opportunities for faculty, staff and students.

  • Run our summer outreach programs in person on campus once again.

  • Provide opportunities for our alumni to gather and celebrate each other and our alma mater.

  • Open campus for conferences such as Hands & Voices and math teachers from across the country.

  • Launch several impressive art exhibits.

  • Begin updating our performing arts spaces.

  • Cheer on our deaf and hard-of-hearing student athletes.

  • And much more!

Please enjoy this video, which reminds us that as we share our gifts, they continue to grow. I look forward to another year of sharing and growth in 2023.

I wish you and yours a safe holiday break and a healthy and happy New Year.

Gerry

Archives

Gerry Buckley

Antiracism and Social Justice update

As reported during the Oct. 2022 “Together RIT: A Day of Understanding, Solidarity and Racial Reconciliation” event, NTID continues to pursue the action items in its college-specific Antiracism and Social Justice Plan. This plan was approved in fall 2020 following consultation with NTID’s National Advisory Group, Alumni Association Board and shared governance groups. To date, 16 of 33 action steps have been completed, nine have achieved substantial progress, three are COVID travel-related delayed, and three are being worked on directly as part of university-wide efforts.

NTID’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s executive team, led by Alesia Allen with support from Christan Monin, provides overall leadership for this effort in collaboration with NTID’s Administrative Council.

One of the major goals of the plan is to increase ALANA faculty and staff representation to 20%. While we are pleased to report ALANA representation has increased from 14.9% (2018) to 19.6% (2022), retention and the percentage of ALANA tenure track faculty (10.9%) do remain challenges that require increased attention.

Other highlights of the plan include the success of the Randleman Program, which was established in 2019 as a two-year preceptorship experience for BIPOC interpreters. Thus far, 19 protégés have participated in the program, and 11 have been hired by NTID. The number of staff interpreters of color has increased from 14 (2015) to 27 (2022).

NTID’s Faculty Fellowship Program was established in 2018 to build the pipeline for faculty of color. The program is designed to diversify NTID’s faculty by providing a three-year fellowship/mentorship experience, preparing individuals for careers in education. The program has expanded to include 11 fellows with 63.6% being BIPOC.

NTID’s plan remains a living document and work in progress. The success we’ve achieved to date is the direct result of a firm commitment by faculty and staff leaders at NTID to antiracism and social justice. Additional information can be found in NTID’s Antiracism and Social Justice Plan.

alesia allen headshot

Alesia Allen

NCCC updates

Submitted by John Macko

  • Amy Stornello and Sophie Powell presented excerpts of Working Together: Deaf and Hearing for RIT’s Cybersecurity Bootcamp participants (nine total attendees).

  • Pam Christopher coordinated the Workforce Recruitment Program. 

    • WRP is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private sector employers nationwide with highly motivated college students and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs.

    • We received 47 completed applications, and WRP recruiters interviewed 40 of those students. Please note it was optional for the students to be interviewed.  

  • Three faculty (Karen Beiter, David Monahan, and Chris Brucker) and seven students (Evan Strickland – mechanical engineering,  Bryan Yun – mechanical engineering, Ulysses Hampton – biochemistry, Marco Hernandez – electrical/mechanical engineering technology, Kayley Judd – mechanical engineering technology, Alex Aguiar – applied mechanical technology, and Dana Matthews – applied mechanical technology) went to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Deaf in Department of Defense (DoD) Research Symposium Nov. 9 - 10, 2022. 

    • The symposium was coordinated by Agron Deski, a recent RIT/NTID graduate, and Dr. Marriner Merrill from U.S. Naval Research Lab.

    • Kevin Klucher, RIT/NTID alumnus (ME and BS in mechanical engineering), was the keynote speaker. He serves as a senior engineer overseeing structural, preservation, corrosion, and cathodic protection maintenance matters for all U.S. Navy in-service submarines.

  • Tracy Magin, Karen Beiter, and Amy Stornello attended L3Harris’ open house in Rochester Nov. 15 to connect with L3 Harris leaders and fellow community members to learn how L3Harris plays a critical role in supporting customers who keep our nation and allies safe. 

  • Curtis Reid, NTID alumnus – management information systems, from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reached out to Beth Karbowski to have NTID back on the recruitment list. 

  • Miranda Harms met with Amanda Gilley, engineering manager/functional safety assessor/product cybersecurity assessor at DENSO International America, Inc., to discuss a potential partnership. DENSO is responsible for automotive component sales, engineering, design, testing and R&D.

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Personnel

Congratulations to our colleagues who have changed positions within the college, and welcome to our new co-workers:

  • Transfers
    • Barbara Gasbarre, senior staff assistant, Department of Information and Computing Studies/DeafTEC
    • Jenna Stein, special assistant for interpretation and special projects, Office of the President
    • Amanda Wehrman, interpreting coordinator, Interpreting Team for SCB and GCCIS
  • New Hires
    • Jay Vollmer, senior staff assistant, Office of External Affairs
    • Connie Steele, enrollment systems application administrator, Enrollment Management
Cubes sculpture

RIT budget/accounting training now available

Submitted by Hope Williams

The Controller’s Office has resumed offering training on RIT accounting processes and procedures. Web-based training topics include Introduction to Accounting, Purchasing Processes and Procedures and Running and Using Oracle Reports. See the Controller’s Office website for training opportunities, video tutorials and the Monday Minute video series.

woman sitting at desk doing accounting work

Student scholar/researcher news

Funding through NTID’s Professional and Student Scholar Development Office has supported the following student research presentations at professional conferences:

  • Regib Mahmood, network security and system administration, presented “Perceiving and Evaluating Computers’ Animated Avatars’ Signing: An Exploratory Study” at the High Desert Linguistics Society Conference held at the University of New Mexico.

  • James Macisco, chemistry, presented “Characterization of Phenols in Wine Using Multidimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy with Chemometrics” at the Rochester Academy of Science in Rochester, New York.

Two ASLIE students presented at the International LA Conference at the University of Colorado Boulder:

  • Jabriel Parham presented “Short Talk: Collaborating to Share Recent and Future Research in Support of the LA Model - LA-Supported Courses in the Field of American Sign Language-English Interpretation.”

  • Kiertsin Ryan presented “Utilizing LAs to Employ ‘Career Introduction Model’ Programming & Data Collection.”

Visit our website for more information about student research funding and resources. 

students signing in classroom

Personnel

Join me in congratulating the following colleagues who have new positions within NTID:

  • Kristen Flood – director of operations and special assistant for strategic planning, Office of External Affairs

  • Margaret Renteria – senior staff assistant, Outreach, Placement and Special Projects

  • Mark Sommer – senior director of NTID’s Regional STEM Center, Outreach, Placement and Special Projects

Welcome to our new colleagues:

  • Antonietta Alfano, admissions counselor, Enrollment Management

  • Victoria Covell – senior marketing communication assistant, Enrollment Management

  • Holly Elkins – director, NRSC STEM Academy, Outreach, Placement and Special Projects

  • MaryEllen Graham – Summer Vestibule Program manager, First Year Experience

  • Tammy Palmieri – financial coordinator, Office of the President

personnel news

Three questions with Fred Michael Beam, coordinator of NTID’s Sunshine 2.0 traveling performance troupe

What is the best part of your job?

Creating and incorporating STEM and arts content in our educational performances, and traveling across the country to perform with the members of Sunshine 2.0.

What would surprise people to know about you?

I graduated with an electronic engineering degree, and have a lot of experience in the performing arts. I enjoy using both parts of my brain. Many people don’t realize that I am also a visual artist.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to go to the movies and various performing arts productions. I also love to be near the water, specifically the beach. Some of my favorite activities are cooking, dancing, acting, and playing basketball. Lately, during my free time I have been doing quite a few DIY house projects. I have been following HGTV shows to get new ideas for how to do home renovations. Clearly, I can’t decide on just one thing that I enjoy during my free time!

Fred Michael Beam

Three questions with Maameyaa Asiamah, biochemistry major from Fairfax, Virginia

What is the best part of your major?

I love my major because it is flexible and can be applied to many fields. It’s also fun and challenging! 

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I think people might be surprised to learn that I am the first person in my family to attend college.

What do you like to do in your free time?

When I’m not studying or in the lab, I love to go to history museums, hiking, and running. 

Maameyaa Asiamah in a science lab

Kudos

  • Special kudos to the team at Morpheyes – Ernie Roszkowski, Liam Coleman, Ren Putz, and Darian Slattery; Communications, Marketing, and Multimedia Services Department: Blake Nitko and Kashif Bin Arif; and superstar talent: Tim Albert, Grace Detrich, Jenai McKeen, Marden Kowalczyk, Darian Slattery, Cami Oulette, and, of course, RITchie for their outstanding work on NTID’s end-of-year video message.

  • Jill Bradbury was featured in a report on representation of the Deaf community in television and theater published by the National Research Group and Deaf West Theatre.

  • Patrick Graham, department chair, and Chris Kurz, professor, both in NTID’s secondary education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing program; and Stephen Jacobs, professor in the School of Interactive Games and Media, were invited to the mEducation Alliance Symposium at the Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., to discuss their work in the Philippines, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea.

  • Joseph Bochner; Vincent Samar; Matt Huenerfauth, dean, Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences; and Emily Prud'hommeaux, Boston College, published “Phoneme Categorization in Prelingually Deaf Adult Cochlear Implant Users” in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Their research shows that the age at which a prelingually deaf child receives a cochlear implant affects their eventual development of speech sound categories in adulthood.

  • Eric Kunsman’s photography work is being featured in CURRENTS, the PhotoNOLA Festival annual showcase that highlights the diverse photographic work being created by New Orleans Photo Alliance members. The exhibit runs now through Jan. 29, 2023, at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, during the PhotoNOLA festival. For more on where his works are being exhibited, visit Eric’s website.

  • Mike Kane’s second book, “Deaf and Hard of Hearing Certified Public Accountants, Second Volume: Professional Journeys,” follows the February 2020 publication of the first volume is available through Amazon. It features interviews with eight deaf and hard-of-hearing CPAs who shared their personal, educational, and professional journeys.
     
  • Congratulations to the following colleagues who earned the Cultural Humility Certificate offered by RIT Diversity Education:

    • Eileen Contestabile, senior staff assistant, NTID Counseling and Academic Advising Services

    • Lola Johnston, associate interpreter, NTID

    • William Windhorn, access services manager, NTID

    • Emily Zaleski, interpreter, NTID

Kudos

In the news

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Passings

We pause to remember members of the NTID community who have passed away:

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