From the NTID President's Office

As a reminder, RIT recognizes two holiday early release closure dates.  The university will officially close at 2:00 p.m. on the following dates:

• Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020
• Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020

Please review the Holiday Early Release Process & Guidelines F&Qs to get information on reporting the hours in Kronos and general guidelines for the holiday early release process. If you have additional questions, the RIT Service Center can assist you at 585-475-5000.

Allow me to express my deep appreciation to everyone for your amazing work and dedication during the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been myriad changes that we’ve all needed to keep up with, and you’ve managed them admirably.  

A reminder that, as mandated by the RIT COVID-19 guidelines, any employment or hiring action must receive prior approval from me and sign-off from Jo Ellen Pinkham in HR. This includes special assignments, honoraria, etc. We will offer a refresher course on this for all managers and staff assistants soon. 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Information on RIT’s Red Folder program, designed to help faculty and staff identify and assist students in distress, can be found here. I encourage all faculty and staff to review this important content. Contact Mary Karol Matchett NTID’s point of contact for the Red Folder program, with any questions.

For those of us who miss visiting the Dyer Arts Center while on campus, Tabitha Jacques and her team have prepared online exhibitions. We could all use some art in our lives! https://dyerartscenter.omeka.net/

It’s time to prepare your proposal to exhibit at the Annual Imagine RIT Festival, Saturday, May 1, 2021. The submission system is open now through March 15.

Only current RIT students, faculty and staff are eligible to submit a proposal for Imagine RIT. Before submitting, review the exhibitor guidelines. If you would like to be considered for placement in the Gordon Field House, submit your proposal by Feb. 1. All other submissions should be completed by March 15.

In addition to exhibiting in person, this year exhibitors also can submit a video of their exhibit to be posted on the Imagine website. More details can be found here. Contact NTID’s point of contact Nancy Popolizio for more information.

Staff Council is recognizing the dedicated work of RIT staff members since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you know someone who has gone above and beyond in any way, please take a few moments to nominate a colleague for recognition. Staff Council’s Executive Committee will select recipients, whose name and information from the nomination form will be announced at a Staff Council meeting, posted on the SC website, and shared on SC's social media accounts. Recipients will receive a dining services gift card in the amount of $5.

• Two PI Prime Time events were well received:
  • Oct. 30 with Matt Dye and Laurie Furibondo on the grant review process
  • Nov. 6 with Mike McKee on maximizing relations with grant project officers
• Bob Pollard lectured to a nationwide meeting of crisis call workers from the National Suicide Hotline network
• Watch for the annual call for proposals for the "SPDI" grant program
• The RIT-RISE program has held the following events:
  • Oct. 14 with Lorne Farovitch on his journey as a deaf infectious disease scientist
  • Oct. 28 with Lea Michel on understanding sepsis

NTID’s Outreach Consortium personnel have been involved in a number of activities this fall including:

• Math Competition Lite https://www.rit.edu/ntid/mathcompetition/lite
• Virtual Science Fair          https://www.rit.edu/ntid/virtual-science-fair
• Career Exploration Series Fall 2020 Sessions included: https://www.rit.edu/ntid/career-exploration-series
  • Thursday Nov. 12– The Science behind Clean Water, Camille Ouellette
  • Tuesday Nov. 17– Internet of Things / Paper Circuits, Joseph Stanislow
  • Thursday Dec. 3 – Printmaking, Laural Hartman
  • Friday Dec. 18– Virtual Reality, Tiandre’ Turner

The annual employee Benefits Open Enrollment period continues through Wednesday, Nov. 18. Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to enroll, change, or cancel many of your benefits. 

Please refer to the Open Enrollment webpage for helpful information.

• A presentation to 307 participants from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and Department of Interior (DOI). “Maximizing Recruitment and Internship Partnerships with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf”. The workshop was presented by Shyrl Scalice, Todd Pagano, and John Macko on Oct. 29.
• RIT/NTID alumna Lauren Aggen and her colleagues from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) met with 31 participants on Oct. 27 to provide a better understanding of the agency and learn the various types of training and skills they seek.
• Alumnus Greg Pollock presented “The Perfect Pitch: Selling Yourself on LinkedIn” to students and alumni on Nov. 5.
• Three employers participated in VCS’s Employment Seminar Mock Interviews that took place on Oct. 28 and 30. Nearly 20 students participated.
• John Macko presented as part of a panel for the National Millennial/Gen Z Disability Awareness event on Nov. 9.

A number of current and retired RIT/NTID faculty and staff provided information on members of the Deaf community as part of RIT's 100^th anniversary of the 19^th Amendment celebration. They are: Karen Christie, Harry Lang, Joan Naturale, Deirdre Schlehofer, and “Moving Forward: Suffrage Past, Present, and Future” committee members Amy Stornello and Susan Murad. Learn more here.

Are you still struggling with Zoom?  Will you be teaching/tutoring in Zoom in spring semester? Do you want to practice with new features? 

Tony Ellis is available to meet with you to demonstrate Zoom features or you can email your questions to him at tdenlc@rit.edu.

If you receive any requests from the media or from organizational partners asking us to participate in media coverage, please contact Susan Murad before making any commitment.

• To NCE and Director John Macko for the manner in which they have moved into the virtual arena to serve our students and alumni.
• To the following Department of Access Services interpreting staff:
  • Carlton Velasco Mangonon is promoted to associate interpreter.
  • Erica Scorpio is promoted to associate interpreter.
  • Kristi Love-Cooper is promoted to interpreter.
  • Nicole Lupinetti is promoted to interpreter.
  • Emily Zaleski is promoted to interpreter.
  • Jessica Ziomek is promoted to interpreter.
• To RIT/NTID Ph.D. candidate Abraham Glasser who has been involved in an National Science Foundation research project on computing accessibility research to analyze facial expressions in ASL.
• To all who participated in the RIT FoodShare program for those in need. Your generosity is inspiring.

• David J. Maher, SVP ’78, ’81 NTID (Ophthalmic Optical Finishing Technology), Oct. 13, 2020 in Farragut, Iowa.