About President Solomon

NTID President and RIT Vice President and Dean

E-mail: caroline.solomon@rit.edu
Office: LBJ-2135
Office of the NTID President website

A renowned scientist and researcher, Dr. Caroline M. Solomon is the first woman to lead NTID since the college’s establishment in 1965. As president, she provides leadership in developing and executing the college’s vision and strategic plan, and is responsible for NTID’s financial operations and budget, academic programs, enrollment management, external and federal relations, and fundraising.

Throughout her career, Solomon has devoted herself to encouraging and nurturing deaf and hard-of-hearing students in STEM fields. She joined the faculty of Gallaudet University as a biology instructor in 2000 and rose to the rank of professor in 2011. She received Gallaudet’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 2013 and was recognized by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography with their Ramon Margalef Award for Excellence in Education in 2017. She was appointed the dean of faculty at Gallaudet in 2024.

Solomon earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and public policy, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and a master’s degree in biological oceanography from University of Washington’s School of Oceanography. She earned a Ph.D. in marine, environmental and estuarine sciences from University of Maryland and has presented her research at national and international conferences. She is the co-creator of a database of science- and technology-related terms in American Sign Language to help ensure standardization of terminology and enhance accessibility for individuals who are deaf studying or working in the sciences.

A past participant in the Deaflympics as a swimmer, Solomon was inducted into the Deaflympics Hall of Fame in 2020. She and her husband, Barry, an attorney, have two children.