News by Topic: Deaf Community

Alana Smith, a Rochester Institute of Technology graduate, is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to serve overseas after an unprecedented two-year Peace Corps evacuation from more than 60 countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For villagers in poet Ilya Kaminsky’s book Deaf Republic, deafness becomes an act of revolt against a totalitarian government. Deaf Republic is the subject of the NEA Big Read project during National Deaf History Month in April 2023, hosted by NTID.

WHEC-TV features Thomas Warfield, director of dance in NTID’s Department for Performing Arts, who received the New York State Commendation Award.

Matt Huenerfauth has been named dean of the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. Huenerfauth, who is an expert in computing accessibility and served as chair of RIT’s School of Information (iSchool) for the past two years, was chosen after an international search.

A team at RIT has been named the winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Inclusion and Diversity Prize, which celebrates those who strive to improve access to the chemical sciences and progression for all.

The Microsoft Accessibility Blog features a project led by computing and information sciences Ph.D. candidate Abraham Glasser that looks at improving common interactions with smart assistants for people who use sign language.

Essay by Pamela Renee Conley, associate professor of liberal studies, published by The Conversation.

The Center on Access Technology at NTID, in partnership with Google and Georgia Institute of Technology, is creating PopSign, a mobile app that will enable parents of deaf children to more easily learn American Sign Language.

RIT’s bootcamp prepares professionals from all backgrounds and abilities—including those who don’t know code—for critical entry-level cybersecurity jobs.

INSIGHT into Diversity features NTID's Robert F. Panara Theatre and performing arts program.

Debbie Lesser '19 is a catalyst, facilitating crucial conversations taking place in often highly sensitive situations. As a certified medical interpreter, she assists deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing patients and health care providers in communicating with one another regarding everything from mental health crises to detailed complex medical procedures.

Christine Sun Kim BS ’02 is an artist and is being honored by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.