From the NTID President's Office - October

October 2022

October on campus has always been a special time with the fall semester at the halfway mark, made even more so this year with events and activities such as the Career Fair; Brick City Homecoming; the Deaf Creators Play Festival; Together RIT: A Day of Understanding, Solidarity and Racial Reconciliation; ASL Night at RIT Men’s Hockey; and more. Our campus is filled with excitement and positivity, and I am grateful to all of you who help make that happen every day.

Gerry

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Be sure to register for Together RIT: A Day of Understanding, Solidarity and Racial Reconciliation Friday, Oct. 21. This event is a new tradition designed to gather the community to engage in intentional and honest dialogue about race, ethnicity, and racism. It will offer students, faculty, staff, and alumni the opportunity to share their work, passions, ideas, critiques, initiatives, performances, and artistic projects with the RIT community through sessions held in-person.

I look forward to learning and growing with you.

On Sept. 30, 2022, President Biden signed a continuing resolution, or CR, that extends federal fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding for most programs until Dec. 16. This means NTID’s funding will continue at the same level as FY 22 for the period of the CR, from Oct. 1 through Dec. 16. Congress will probably not be in session until after the mid-term elections on Tuesday, Nov. 8, because most members will be in their home districts and states campaigning or helping others campaign. When they reconvene in November, the results of the elections will shape what legislation gets passed and when, including FY 2023 funding, and it may take some time before we know who won certain elections or even who controls the Senate. Congress will either resolve FY 2023 funding in December before the new members are sworn in, or Congress will pick up FY 2023 funding decisions in February or March when the new Congress can shape funding priorities.

ROAR the Vote, RIT’s voter registration and engagement campaign, will have tables in SAU or the CPC Breezeway multiple days in October. At tabling events, students are able to print absentee ballot requests and make absentee ballot requests online. The last day to register to vote in New York is Oct. 14. Oct. 28 is Vote Early Day in New York with early voting continuing through Nov. 6. Nov. 8 is Election Day. Please support RIT’s commitment to non-partisan voter engagement by encouraging your students to register and vote.

• Jordan Wright, assistant professor and director of NTID’s Deaf MetaLiteracy Lab has co-authored “Decision Making in the Era of Post-Modern Audism: Examining the colonizing normate,” in “Who decides? Power, disability, and educational administration.” 
• A research article, “Experiences of pregnancy and perinatal healthcare access of women who are deaf: a qualitative study,” authored by Tiffany L. Panko, MD, MBA; Jess Cuculick, EdD; Sasha Albert, PhD; Lauren D. Smith, MPH; Margarita M. Cooley, MA; Melanie Herschel; Monika Mitra, PhD; and Michael McKee, MD, MPH, was published in “BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.” The authors have provided a video abstract in American Sign Language with spoken English overlay and an English captions file. 
• NTID was well represented by a number of ASLIE faculty, as well as current and former students, at the biennial Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT) Sept. 19-22 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. CIT is a professional organization of interpreter educators that is dedicated to laying the educational foundations for interpreters. NTID also learned that we have won the bid to host the 2026 CIT conference. 
  • Among the student presenters were Taylor Harris, former research assistant, and current research assistant Manjot Sidhu of the ASL Education for Second Language Learners Research Lab (ASL2 Ed) under the NTID Research Center on Culture and Language (CCL), who presented “Black Indigenous People of Color Interpreting Students’ Perspective on Interpreter Education Programs,” together with Drs. Joseph Hill and Jason Listman. They presented preliminary findings on BIPOC interpreting students’ perspectives of how interpreting education programs could improve the culture and curriculum to be more inclusive. LaTanya Jones, a Black interpreter and educator, recognized their work during her endnote presentation as she reflected on the importance of BIPOC faculty for BIPOC students. 
  • Tadhg Hicken, another former research assistant of ASL2 Ed under CCL, co-presented with Dr. Jason Listman on “Students’ Perception of the Learning Assistant Model in Interpreting Program Courses.” This follow-up to a previous conference presentation discussed findings that provide evidence of the benefit to employing the LA Model in interpreter education; specifically, use of LAs boosted students’ confidence and supported their success in the program.
  • Nicole Birnbaum, current senior in the BS in ASL-English Interpretation program, co-presented with Program Director Danny Maffia on “The Value of Group Deliberation on Ethical Reasoning Among Interpreting Students.” This presentation shared findings from Danny Maffia and Robyn Dean’s study of interpreting students’ moral reasoning skills.
  • Dr. Kierstin Muroski presented on “InterpNET: A Comprehensive Open, Interactive Digital Database of Resources for the Field of Signed Language Interpreting.” She aims to develop an open, interactive digital database website with comprehensive data related to the field of signed language interpreting.
  • Drs. Lisa Prinzi and Kim Kurz presented “The Certificate in Educational Interpreting (CEI): An examination into Specialized Professional Development for ASL-English Interpreters Working in Educational Settings” in which they shared pre- and post-survey preliminary findings from 15 members of the certificate program’s inaugural cohort. 
  • Dr. Jeni Rodrigues presented “Unpacking Effective Communication in Healthcare: Institutional vs. Interpreter Responsibilities for Providing Access.” This presentation reported findings from her doctoral dissertation: “Letter or Spirit of the Law? An Institutional Ethnography of Effective Communication Access in U.S. Hospitals” in which she investigated healthcare system compliance with language access laws.
  • Dr. Kim Kurz, Alisha Bronk, Dr. Jason Listman, and Dr. Keith Cagle presented “The Profile of Deaf Interpreters in the United States” and shared the findings from the study, which was done in collaboration with the National Association of the Deaf.
  • Veronika Talbott, Dr. Kierstin Muroski, and Dr. Kim Kurz presented a workshop “DISC Behavioral Assessment 101 for Interpreter Educators.” The workshop explained how the DISC Behavioral Assessment can enhance self-awareness, collaboration, and communication effectiveness through understanding behavioral differences.

Submitted by Todd Pagano and Dawn Sullivan

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

• Nicole Birnbaum presented “The Value of Group Deliberations on Ethical Reasoning Among Interpreting Students” at the Conference of Interpreter Trainers.

• Antonia Gomes presented “Composition of Volatile Compounds from Rare and Endangered Illicium ekmanii, a Species endemic to Hispaniola” at the American Chemical Society Northeast Regional Meeting.

• James Macisco presented “Characterization of Phenols in Wine Using 3-Dimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy with Chemometrics” at the American Chemical Society Northeast Regional Meeting.

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

Submitted by Todd Pagano

NTID Professional Development is sponsoring the NTID Lecturer Success Seminar (NLSS) Program. This optional one-year seminar series is designed to help new non-tenure track faculty become onboarded, make connections with colleagues, get mentoring/support and have a highly successful first year of teaching. The program is open to new lecturers and adjunct faculty.  For more information about NLSS, contact the facilitators Michael “Mike” Kane, principal lecturer, NTID Business Studies, and Sarah Sarchet, senior lecturer, NTID Science and Mathematics.

What is the best part of your job?

The best part of my job is getting to meet so many alumni and having them share their stories about RIT/NTID. It amazes me how many changes there have been over the years!

What would surprise people to know about you?

I was an NDIAA (National Deaf Interscholastic Athletic Association) Female Athlete of the Year for Division 2 in volleyball and basketball during my senior year of high school. Not only that, I also was the first person from my school to receive that award. It was one of my proudest accomplishments!

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love reading books, cooking/baking, working out, and visiting new places! If you have any good recommendations in the Rochester area that I should check out, let me know!

What is the best part of your major?

The best part about my major (Business Administration) is that it serves as an introduction to the real world of business.

What is something that would surprise people to learn about you?

I’ve been skiing since I was two years old. I once fractured my skull in a skiing accident, but it hasn’t stopped me from skiing. Once I’m into something, I never back out or quit!

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to play sports, especially basketball, even if I’m not great at it. And I’m a student, so taking a nap is something I do in my free time as well.