U.S. Congress Approves Appointments to NTID Advisory Board

Congress has approved the appointments of three people to the National Advisory Group for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), a college of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

The National Advisory Group advises NTID leadership on carrying out policies governing operations, long-range planning and research and development. The group is comprised of professionals concerned with education and technical training at the postsecondary level.

Those appointed include:

Richard Valentine Burkhauser, professor of policy analysis and chair, Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University. Burkhauser earned his doctorate in economics at the University of Chicago, his master’s in economics at Rutgers University and his bachelor’s in economics at St. Vincent College. He has authored more than 100 articles, edited texts and written book reviews, governmental papers, and many papers about employment and the economic status of disabled persons. His most recent work, The Decline in Employment of People with Disabilities: A Policy Puzzle, with David Stapleton, will be published by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research later this year. Widely known as a leading economist, Burkhauser is frequently called on for public testimony addressing issues such as social security and disability programs, minimum wage, and retirement.

Augustin Melendez, director and vice president of Human Resources for Eastman Kodak Company’s Global Manufacturing and Logistics division. Previously, Melendez was the director of Human Resources for Imaging Materials Manufacturing at Kodak Park, and director of Human Resources for Paychex, Inc., where he was responsible for directing the operational and strategic human resources function for 100 field locations in 39 states. He also worked in a similar role for the Rochester City Public Schools, where he improved the diversity representation at all levels within the workforce, increasing representation of women in leadership positions from 40% to 68% and people of color from 22% to 46%. Melendez earned his master’s in human resources and development from St. John Fisher College, and a bachelor’s in business administration and economics with a minor in accounting, and a bachelor's in speech and communications from Wagner College.

Steven Michael Bock has been an advisory software engineer with IBM Corporation for 20 years. In this capacity, he designs and develops Information Management System (IMS) advanced communication technologies, working remotely in Seattle for San Jose-based IBM Silicon Valley Laboratory. He shared the coveted $15,000 IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award, and received the IBM Invention Achievement Award for System and Method for Processing Transactions in a Multi-system Database Environment, as well as numerous awards for significant contributions to IMS software product development. Bock has been instrumental in developing and bringing Video Remote Interpreting Service as a work-related accommodation option to deaf and hard-of-hearing employees at IBM and several other companies. He also serves as a member of the IBM Corporate Advisory Council for People with Disabilities and the National Visiting Committee for the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant at NTID. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting practices and theory from California State University at Northridge.

Burkhauser and Melendez are hearing persons while Bock is deaf. The National Advisory Guidelines approved by the Secretary of Education in Washington, D.C., require that at least one half of the group’s membership be filled by qualified deaf persons.

Rep. Amo Houghton (R-NY) joins Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) as a congressional representative to the group.

The first and largest technological college in the world for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, NTID, one of eight colleges of RIT, offers educational programs and access and support services to the 1,100 deaf and hard-of-hearing students from around the world who study, live, and socialize with 14,000 hearing students on RIT’s Rochester, N.Y., campus. Web address: www.rit.edu/NTID.


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