Deaf Artist Lectures On A Colorful And Competitive Career

Graphic designer and artist Nancy Rourke, whose work includes the colorization of some of the world’s most cherished classic films, has been named the 2002 Edmund Lyon Memorial Lecturer for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), a college of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

Rourke, of Loveland, Colo., will present "Succeeding in the Competitive Workplace," 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, March 19, in NTID’s Dyer Arts Center, 52 Lomb Memorial Drive. Her talk is free and open to the public.

The Lyon Lectureship is presented annually to a deaf person who has distinguished him/herself in the area of science, technology, business, industry, the arts, or public service. The lectureship was established in memory of Edmund Lyon, a trustee of the Rochester School for the Deaf from 1911 to 1920 and an RIT trustee from 1905 to 1920.

Rourke, who received a bachelor’s degree in graphic design in 1982 and a master of fine arts degree in computer graphics and graphic design in 1986, both from RIT, has spent eight years in the computer graphics industry.

She began working at Xerox Corporation in San Diego, and then worked as a designer for American Film Technologies, Inc. Rourke was directly involved in computer enhancement and colorization, of such classic films as "Casablanca," "Curly Top," "The Bells of St. Mary’s," and "Sands of Iwo Jima." She said it was her most creative, yet controversial, work alluding to the strong public sentiment against colorization.

"Nancy’s wealth of experience impressed the Lyon Lectureship Committee," said Vicki Hurwitz, student development educator coordinator for RIT’s Student Life Team. "We feel that she will enlighten students who wish to pursue similar fields of study."

Rourke also worked for IBM, where she specialized in creating videodiscs for corporate training programs; and Microsoft Corporation, where she designed and developed conceptual graphics for PowerPoint presentations.

The first and largest technological college in the world for students who are deaf and hard of hearing, NTID, one of eight colleges of RIT, offers educational programs and access and support services to 1,100 students from around the world who study, live, and socialize with RIT’s 13,500 hearing students on the RIT campus. Web address: www.rit.edu/NTID. For more NTID news visit www.rit.edu/NTID/newsroom.