Join me in congratulating our colleagues on their many accomplishments.
- Congratulations to Blake Nitko, Josh Bloodworth, Don Feigel, Kashif Bin Arif, Dave Putz, Patrick Smith, and John Blotzer on the launch of “In Focus” – NTID’s new vodcast (video interview) project, and many thanks to NTID President Caroline Solomon for being the first “In Focus” guest! We are excited to use this new communication vehicle to showcase the interesting faculty, staff, students, alumni, and guests who make NTID such a vibrant place to study, live, and work, and to position NTID as experts in key areas such as deaf education, disability employment, access service and technology, sign language, and more.
- Aimee Whyte, senior lecturer in NTID’s Department of Liberal Studies, was appointed to the board of directors of The Music Teacher Guild in October. The organization envisions a world where music educators thrive and inspire the next generation of musicians and music lovers.
- Russell West, visiting assistant professor, and Nathan Harrison, lecturer in NTID’s Department of Deaf Education, presented “Deaf School Leadership: What We Know and What We Don’t” at the 2025 CEASD Conference in Pittsburgh. Their research introduces a national agenda for leadership in Deaf education, highlighting priorities such as diversity in leadership, mentorship and networking, Deaf-centered guiding practices, and pathways for developing Deaf leaders. Next steps include launching the Deaf Education Aptitudes for Leadership initiative to assess and strengthen leadership capacity in Deaf schools and programs.
- Erin Clegg has been appointed NTID Outreach Consortium Director. In this role, she will be responsible for various youth-focused outreach programs, including, but not limited to, EYF, Health Care Careers Exploration, Tiger Gaming League, Tech Tigers, Career Exploration Series, Advanced Tech Careers, NBI, and Tiger Science Challenge.
- Sincere thanks to Roxann Richards who served as Interim Co-leader of the Outreach Consortium along with Erin Clegg for the past 12 months. Roxann’s steady leadership, professionalism, and willingness to step in ensured continuity and stability for the team, and we are grateful for her contributions during this period.
