From the NTID President's Office - June 2023

President Buckley signing to a group of students
 

From the NTID President's Office

June 2023

I hope you’re all enjoying a bit of well-deserved downtime. Now that academic year 2022-23 is over, I’ve had a moment to reflect on what a remarkable year it was. Our students remained engaged and accomplished so much. This year, we saw the first deaf Ph.D. graduates in RIT history—I’m certain they are not the last! Taking a look back on what was a memorable convocation and commencement weekend, our video team has put together this wrap-up.

Thank you for all of your efforts to help our students accomplish their goals!

Gerry

Archives

Gerry Buckley

Enrollment Management update

Submitted by Rick Postl

As of May 15, we had 295 enrolled students (deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate, ASLIE, and graduate), an increase of nearly 20 students from the same time last year. We need to enroll at least 320 students by fall semester. Our overall yield is 57%, which is off the charts compared to other schools.

We need a bigger application pool to easily reach our enrollment targets—something that continues to be a challenge. The Admissions team has been working with admitted students who have not yet committed to RIT/NTID as well as with students who are just beginning to work on their applications. We are on target to reach 325 enrolled students, based on historical projections and outcomes.

Graphic: You're in! Welcome to the Tiger Family.

Outreach Consortium News

Submitted by Denise Kavin

  • We are pleased to welcome Charles McFadden as the new senior director for Pre-College Outreach, and David Strom as the new director for Project Fast Forward.
  • Our first ever Deaf Employment Summit is June 7-9 with approximately 100 participants coming to campus. This is being organized collaboratively by NTID, Gallaudet University, Communication Services for the Deaf, and the National Association of the Deaf.
  • We are hosting a Project Fast Forward training for teachers and counselors from schools across the country June 25-30 with approximately 50 participants.
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Student research news

Submitted by Dawn Sullivan

NTID’s Professional and Student Scholar Development office hosted its Sixth Annual Student Research Fair April 21 in Rosica Hall. Under the guidance of RIT/NTID faculty, more than 40 student researchers presented 28 posters or demonstrations across multiple disciplines and in a variety of interest areas. Prior to the fair, we held a series of workshops to help students write research abstracts, create research posters, and present their research.

Thank you to the NTID Office of the President; the 2023 NTID Student Research Fair planning committee: Todd Pagano, Dawn Sullivan, Hope Williams, Nancy Starr, Laurie Furibondo, Jessica Contreras, TK Sylvester, and Jorge Samper; RIT Catering; FMS; and everyone who attended for their support of our students and this exciting event. For a complete list of poster presentations and abstracts, and to learn about funding opportunities to support NTID student researchers, please visit the Student Research Fair website.

Student and researcher at research fair

Information and Computing Studies AAS capstone students in the microgrant process

Submitted by Jim Mallory

Students from the Information and Computing Studies Department received a Student Research Microgrant to make The Grind and Dining Commons more deaf friendly. The $1,000 grant, in partnership with RIT Dining, resulted in deaf-friendly processes to better serve the NTID population. Trevor Smart is one of the three food supervisors who students worked with to experiment with different solutions, and improvements are expected in the next academic year.

Employee preparing food at the commons

Deaf Health Care and Biomedical Science Hub news

Submitted by Tiffany Panko

The NTID Deaf Health Care and Biomedical Science Hub recognizes the following students and faculty for their achievements during the 2022-23 academic year:

  • Mariam Paracha and her team published an article titled “Prevalence and Incidence of Nonmotor Symptoms in Individuals with and without Parkinson's Disease” in the August 2022 issue of “Movement Disorders Clinical Practices.”
  • Roshan Mathew and Wendy Dannels collaborated with Brain Mak from RIT’s College of Liberal Arts to publish “Access on Demand: Real-time, Multi-modal Accessibility for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing based on Augmented Reality,” an article in the October 2022 “Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility.”
  • Shannon Connell and Wendy Dannels collaborated with Ziming Li and Roshan Lalintha Peiris from RIT’s Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences to publish “SoundVizVR: Sound Indicators for Accessible Sounds in Virtual Reality for Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Users,” an article in the October 2022 “Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility.”
  • Roshan Mathew, Wendy Dannels, and Aaron Parker from the NTID Center on Access Technology’s XR Accessibility Lab worked together to share their project, “An Augmented Reality-Based Approach for Optimization of Communication Access Services in Healthcare for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing” (in press) at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute in 2023.
  • Chase Martin won the Social and Behavioral Sciences & Public Health award for his poster presentation, “The Effects of Audism on American Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals’ Mental Health” at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists, Nov. 9-12, 2022, in Anaheim, California.
  • Anna Kasper and Bo Allaby were selected for NTID’s Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Award. Anna also received both the RIT Legacy Leaders Award and the Excellence in Student Life Award.
  • U-RISE scholar Bo Allaby traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to present her poster, “Cognitive reserve questionnaires differentially related to age, executive functioning, and everyday memory” during the annual Eastern Psychological Association meeting, March 2-4, 2023. She presented again at NTID’s Student Research Fair April 21, 2023.
  • Elizabeth Ayers received NTID’s Outstanding Teaching/Tutoring Award for Non-Tenure Faculty.
  • Graduate students gathered April 5, 2023, to share their recent work during Graduate Education Week, which included Roshan Mathew’s poster presentation, “Language Access Services Optimization for Deaf Adults in Healthcare Settings: A Survey Study.”
  • Adira Blumenthal showcased her poster presentation, “RxASL: Making Medication App Accessible for Deaf People” at the University of Rochester Undergraduate Research Exposition where she won the Professors’ Choice Award for the best poster presentation in the engineering/math division.
  • Ryker D’Angelo, a research assistant from the Deaf MetaLiteracy Lab, received the Fram Chair Award for Excellence in Applied Critical Thinking at ImagineRIT. Ryker was part of a larger group to present the exhibit, “Alt-Andalus: An Exhibit of a Medieval World That Never Existed.”
  • Yoni Leiderman was named the Student Government Senator of the Year on May 10, 2023.
  • Tiffany Panko collaborated with Tyler James from the University of Michigan and several other researchers to publish “Healthcare communication access among deaf and hard-of-hearing people during pregnancy,” an article in the journal “Patient Education and Counseling,” volume 112.
  • Congratulations to the Deaf Hub student workers who graduated in May:
    • TJ Bartholomew
    • Barbara Essex
    • Anna Kasper
    • Kam Kinast
    • Chase Martin
    • Menna Nicola
    • Samantha Pon
    • Zach Selsley
    • Sophia Williams

 

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Personnel

Please join me in welcoming new colleagues to NTID and congratulating our colleagues who have transferred to other positions:

New hires

  • Enyoung Doucet, assistant director for outreach and special projects, NTID Outreach, Placement and Special Projects
  • Gideon Samara, diversity, equity, and inclusion coordinator, NTID Office of Diversity and Inclusion
  • Joshua Mora, assistant director for outreach and special projects, NTID Transition Services

Transfers

  • Yvette Chirenje, assistant director for outreach and special projects, NTID Transition Services
  • Danielle Cohen, interpreting coordinator, Department of Access Services COS and CHST Team
  • Theresa Johnson, associate director, DeafTEC
Personnel news

Kudos

  • Congratulations to a successful year for the NTID Faculty Fellowship Program under the guidance of Sarah Sarchet. Here is a summary of their activities and accomplishments.
  • NTID’s Counseling and Academic Advising Services department has earned Silver Sustainable Office Certification.
  • Alumna Amie Sankoh has earned a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (see media stories below).
  • Amberlee Jones of the Office of External Affairs earned a Cultural Humility Certificate.
  • Special thanks to the entire NTID Office of External Affairs team for coordinating an outstanding lineup of special events, board meetings, donor visits and more in what was an exceptionally busy end of the academic year. Highlights include the Vocational Rehabilitation Task Force meeting, Hearst Foundation campus visit, National Advisory Group meeting, Next Big Idea competition, retiree reception, Foundation and Alumni Board meetings, Deaf Awareness Night at the Rochester Museum & Science Center, Lyon Lecture with Alan Hurwitz, and others. These activities are crucial to the success of our fundraising, constituent engagement and recruitment efforts, and I am grateful for the outstanding work of this team.
  • A huge “thank you” to our interpreters who braved freezing temperatures and downpours to make history by providing communication access at the information booths and trophy ceremony at the recent PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club:
    • Cynthia Collward, coordinator
    • Kirsten Borkowski
    • Christina Chafel
    • Breanna Cialini
    • Carmella Cochran
    • Danielle Cohen
    • Stephanie DiLaura
    • Kara Everson
    • Stephanie Ferris
    • Denise Herrera
    • Liz Knisley
    • Susan McGroarty
    • Beth Midavaine
    • Krista Mikiciuk
    • Lauren Perina
    • Samantha Prayne
    • Eric Severson
    • Anna Walton
Kudos

In the news

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Passings