From the NTID President's Office - October 2023 | National Technical Institute for the Deaf

October 2023

As we await the changing leaves that signal the return of autumn, we are greatly anticipating the arrival of parents, alumni, retirees, and friends on campus for NTID’s 55th Anniversary Reunion, Oct. 13-15. These reunion events will be part of Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend, but with a special NTID-flair.

I encourage all of you to support this milestone event by registering and welcoming our visitors back ‘home’ to NTID. All of the information and schedules are listed in the Office of External Affairs report below. I look forward to seeing you there!

Gerry

Office of External Affairs news

Submitted by Bryan Hensel

NTID will celebrate its 55th Anniversary Reunion October 13-15, 2023! Please help us in welcoming hundreds of our alumni, families, and friends to campus. Register TODAY to be part of the action. We have a variety of fun events in store, check out the website for more details. Key events will include an opening welcome, Friday evening entertainment, Saturday tailgate gathering, and Sunday closing breakfast. Reunion events will take place “under the tent” in L lot, so you will want to plan accordingly for parking during that time. Exhibits and vendors will be along the LBJ Hall first floor street area. We look forward to you joining us for a wonderful weekend!

Performing Arts update

Submitted by Jill Bradbury

Protactile Theatre co-founders Jasper Norman and Yashaira Romilus are artists in residence in the Performing Arts Department for fall semester. They will direct a protactile-language performance track for the department’s fall production, “Thy Name is Woman.” The residency is supported by grants from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Clarity Hard of Hearing Fund at The Community Foundation.

Research news

Submitted by Laurie Furibondo

We are excited to announce two awards:

Bringing “H is for Hormones” to schools for the deaf

PI: Tiffany Panko
Sponsor: IF THEN Inc.
Abstract: The project's overall goal is to empower deaf and hard-of-hearing middle school girls to know more about STEM through a visual medium promoting women’s health. Funding will promote access to health information, promote women’s health as a career field, and elevate visibility of women’s health and medical illustration.

As a result of this project, and the achievement of objectives, deaf middle school teenage girls will not only gain education, but will be inspired by the women involved in this project.

Deaf Preschoolers' Exploratory Behaviors and Parent Guidance during Shared Museum Experiences

PI: Rain Bosworth
Sponsor: NIH (R15)
Abstract: Compelled by curiosity and a desire to learn, children naturally explore. Hands-on object exploration is important for building knowledge about how the world works, especially during shared discovery with caregivers, who often provide guidance. Among children who are born deaf, the majority are born to hearing parents who struggle to provide early accessible language. It is likely that language deprivation early in life impacts how children explore and learn about their surroundings. It is also likely that for deaf children who have deaf parents, sign language exposure from birth changes exploratory behaviors in ways that are adaptive for deaf children and different from hearing children. During visits to Rochester’s Strong National Museum of Play, Bosworth and team will describe deaf children's exploratory behaviors, investigate how individual differences in age and quantity of sign language exposure relates to quality of exploratory behaviors, and uncover the ways parents support their deaf children.

Tiffany Panko

Rain Bosworth

NTID Professional Development update

Submitted by Hope Williams

New Lecturer Success Seminar Series: NTID Professional Development is sponsoring the NTID Lecturer Success Seminar (NLSS) series for the third year. This optional one-year seminar series is designed to help onboard non-tenure-track faculty and help them make connections with colleagues, get mentoring/support and have a highly successful start to their teaching careers. The program is open to lecturers and adjunct faculty hired within the last three academic years. For more information about NLSS, contact the facilitators Michael “Mike” Kane (principal lecturer, NTID business studies), and Stacy Bick (senior lecturer, NTID visual communications studies).
Professional Development opportunities and resources
- All RIT faculty and staff can access Talent Roadmap, RIT’s online home for courses and tutorials. Browse the catalog for tutorials on Microsoft and Adobe Software, career development, communication and more.
- Upcoming learning opportunities, in person and remote, are listed on the RIT Talent Development Calendar.
- Visit RIT’s Center for Teaching and Learning calendar regularly for workshops on technologies such as myCourses, generative artificial intelligence (AI), teaching techniques and methods for improving course accessibility.
Funds for professional development: Grants and funds are available to support your professional development activities. See Grants and Funds to learn more about these important resources.

For more information about professional development opportunities and funds, contact Hope Williams.

Fall semester news from NTID’s Online Office

Submitted by Linda Bryant

NTID’s Online Office provides support and training for NTID instructors and tutors interested in developing online materials and courses. Whether you are looking to develop an online activity, authentic assessment, or an entire course, NTID Online provides best practice solutions for recording engaging videos, developing interactive activities, creating accessible coursework, and delivering high quality online instruction, regardless of mode: online asynchronous, online synchronous, blended, flipped or HyFlex.

Our website provides information and resources for both new and experienced online teachers/tutors. It also offers information and resources for students, such as a myCourses experience online workshop, Zoom guidelines, and how to record, edit, caption and submit videos in Panopto.

If you are developing digital materials and/or delivering online instruction for deaf and hard-of-hearing learners, NTID Online is available to assist you with your online instructional/learning needs. Contact the NTID Online Office team at NTIDOL@rit.edu.

Did you know NTID is offering 28 undergraduate online courses (37 sections) and 18 graduate online courses (25 sections) this semester? And five of these courses are newly transitioned online asynchronous courses:

Undergraduate-level course offerings - 2231:

16 online asynchronous (OA) courses; 17 sections
Six online synchronous (OS) courses; 11 sections
Six blended (BL) courses; nine sections

Graduate-level course offerings - 2231:

11 online asynchronous (OA) courses; 13 sections
Seven online synchronous (OS) courses; 12 sections

New OA courses delivered by NTID Instructors, fall 2231

STSO 140: science, technology and values - Janine Butler
LEAD 301: social media communication and leadership - Aimee Whyte
NBUS 228: leadership essentials - Kathleen Brady
NBUS 226: introduction to organizational behavior - Scot Atkins
NBUS 221: essentials of HRM - Tracy Magin

NTID Online Office team:

Linda Bryant (LB) – director, NTID Learning Consortium and Online Learning Initiatives
Serena Cooke – assistant director, NTID Online Office
Charles Coleman – online program support specialist
Jim Dolan – staff assistant

typing on a computer with futuristic graphics overlaid

Important health reminders

RIT’s Student Health Center is seeing an increase in some respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. If you have questions about COVID, check out these FAQs. We have not yet seen cases of flu, but we expect it to arrive soon. Now is a good time to remind everyone of simple, best health practices:

Get enough sleep.
Eat healthy meals; don’t forget those fruits and vegetables.
Drink water and stay hydrated.
Exercise regularly and be physically active.
Check in with your personal mental health.
Wash your hands frequently.
Make sure your vaccinations are up to date.

Wearing a mask is a personal choice. But if you wear one, please ensure it is worn correctly for maximum effectiveness.

Most importantly:

If you feel sick, stay home. Please recognize some members of our community or their loved ones may be susceptible to severe illness.
If you have a respiratory illness (COVID-19, influenza, or a simple cold), wear a well-fitted mask when in close proximity of others except for when eating and sleeping.
Students, if you test positive for COVID with a home test, share your results with the Student Health Center. They will send you specific instructions.
Employees, if you test positive for COVID with a home test, please contact your health care provider.
Don’t hesitate to contact our Student Health Center (students) or your primary care provider (employees) if you have questions or concerns about your health.

The good news is that there are vaccines and treatments that reduce risks from all major viruses likely to circulate this season. We are hosting flu clinics on campus open to students and employees. Watch for details, including dates, times, and sign-up instructions. The newest version of the COVID booster is available this fall, and we hope to offer it on campus, as well.

Three questions with Linda Bryant, director of NTID’s Learning Consortium and Online Learning Initiative

What is the best part of your job?

I love all aspects of my job because each day is different. I am fortunate that I get to support instructors who are developing online courses and certificates; support students who work for and/or use the services in the NLC; and serve the RIT/NTID community in a variety of ways. NTID has always given me the opportunity to apply my strengths as well as foster new skills.

What would surprise people to know about you?

I am a Rochester native who just celebrated my 40th anniversary at NTID, so I can truly say NTID is my home. Another fun fact is that I don’t have a sense of smell, which also affects my sense of taste. This occurred gradually as an adult, but I still remember what certain foods taste like, and it’s easier to pass on that piece of cheesecake because it just tastes like cardboard to me.

What do you do in your free time?

During my “free” time, I’m usually attending a grandchild’s school or sporting event or visiting grandchildren who live out-of-state. I have nine grandchildren so far with another one due in December. I am truly blessed!

Three questions with Emma Kane

What’s the best part of your major?

Public Policy is a really fun major to learn from and work on; it's satisfying to see how small components fit together and affect us as a public. I love that this major encourages high-level thinking and discussion with my peers. The best thing about attending here is getting to know other people as human beings.

What would surprise people to know about you?

A surprising fact about me is even though I love to read, I don’t read books every day!

What do you do in your free time?

In my free time, I enjoy reading, trying new coffee recipes, and supporting local businesses in and around Rochester!

Kudos

Congratulations to our newest PhD awardee, Dr. Scott Gentzke, who successfully defended his dissertation titled, "Deaf Adolescents’ Sense of School Belonging." Please join me in congratulating Dr. Gentzke on this major accomplishment! Thank you to the members of the dissertation committee:
- Dr. Raschelle Neild
- Dr. Lindsay Buchko
- Dr. Oscar Ocuto
- Dr. Chris Kurz
- Dr. Christi Batamula
Congratulations to the Morpheyes Studio team for the continued success of their short film, "INSPIRED," which has won the following awards:
- Winner of Best Short at Over-the-Rhine Film Festival
- Winner of Award of Recognition at IndieFEST Film Festival
- Official Selection for Deaf Film Festival
- Official Selection at Signlight International Film Festival
- Honorable Mention (and virtual festival screening) at Awareness Festival
- Honorable Mention at Champion Film Salon International Film Festival
Salute to Lisa Prinzi for coordinating the certificate in educational interpreting (CEI) for the third year, with participants from Kansas, Michigan, Arkansas, Las Vegas, Tampa, Nebraska, Florida, Maryland, Toronto and South Carolina.
Tiffany Panko, research faculty in the Deaf Health Care and Biomedical Science Hub, collaborated with Kalia V.T. Helm from University of Michigan and several other researchers to publish an article, “Maternal Health Experiences of Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing Women in the United States” on Aug. 28, 2023, in the “Women’s Health Issues” journal. The article discusses how deaf and hard-of-hearing women are faced with numerous health inequities, including adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, because of the intersection of disability and race. The study explores the pregnancy and birth experiences of Black deaf and hard-of-hearing women to identify factors that influence their pregnancy outcomes. The link to the article is available for free access before Oct. 17, 2023.
A big “Thank You” to all who helped with this year’s SVP:
- Vicki Liggera
- MaryEllen Graham
- Matthew Stefano
- Matthew Annis
- Maya Penn
- Joanne Dollhopf
- TJ Sanger
- Jennifer Gentzke
- Scott Gentzke
Congratulations to Denise Herrera, a 2023 finalist for the Colors of Success DEI Award from the Greater Rochester Chamber. Denise is one of the founders and lead preceptor of the Randleman Program.

In the news

Graphic: News stories and media coverage

Passings

Andrew D. Baker, SVP ’74, ’77 (medical technology, AAS), ’79 (biology), passed away Sept. 14, 2023. He was a Distinguished Alumni Award winner in 1990 and 1995. He retired from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, Mass., in 2019 where he worked as a staff optometrist. Andrew was deeply involved with NTID. He was a major donor, former member of the National Advisory Group, and was very engaged in alumni activities, attending NTID reunions in ’98, ’03, ’08 and ’18 and other alumni events. Dr. Baker earned his doctor of optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry, becoming the first deaf optometrist in the United States. He was president of Baker Eye Associates, PC from 1995 to 2016.