From the NTID President's Office - February 2025

Submitted by Rick Postl

With summer and conference season coming up, please consider every possible means of promoting RIT/NTID during your travels. This could be as simple as bringing several publications to share with peers, or adding Admissions and Outreach resources to your exhibition table. Everyone has a relationship with deaf/hard-of-hearing youths, aspiring sign language interpreters, and community advocates, be it within the immediate family or a neighbor’s grandchild. Reach out to the RIT/NTID Office of Admissions with at least three weeks’ notice to request resources, and we will consult with you on quantities. Swag is normally the department’s responsibility, as Admissions has a limited number of items that can be purchased within the department’s budget, and they are reserved for distribution to pre-determined audiences. However, depending on your event, Admissions may be able to provide some giveaways. We appreciate your support as ambassadors of our college when you travel.

Submitted by Heather Eaggleston

The NTID Annual Report fulfills the requirement of the Education of the Deaf Act that NTID prepare and submit an annual report to the U.S. Secretary of Education. The 2024 Annual Report is an excellent resource that provides a wealth of information about NTID, our students, and our work. Reports for past years also are available online.

Submitted by Heather Eaggleston

Marriner Merrill, Karen Beiter, and Scott Wolff in NTID’s Department of Engineering Studies received $126,886 from Syracuse University as a subcontract from their part of the National Science Foundation award, Upstate New York Energy Storage ENGINE. This new program, “Bringing the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Community to Career Paths in Battery and Energy Storage in Upstate New York,” will expand access to technician-level credentials in battery and energy storage for the DHH community. Targeted, high-quality training and curated internship experiences will enable many individuals to improve their hire-ability in the new energy storage sector. Additionally, involvement by the Deaf community in this growing sector of the New York economy will create a ground-up level of accessibility and diversity in the energy storage system testing, manufacturing, and recycling community. Please congratulate Marriner, Karen, and Scott on this award.

PI Prime Time

This spring, NTID’s Office of the Associate Dean of Research will continue to offer PI Prime Time, a unique professional development program for NTID Principal Investigators and their research teams. PI Prime Time will address topics related to applying for grants (pre-award), managing awards (post-award), as well as other aspects of sponsored research activity. Planned topics and dates for this spring include: 

• hiring and paying students as part of your research award – Feb. 27
• promoting your research to the media – Mar. 27 
• processing travel and Travel Expense Reports (TERs) – Apr. 3
• securing private funding from corporations and foundations – Apr. 10

Each PI Prime Time topic will be announced via email, along with registration instructions. We encourage all interested faculty and staff to attend, and welcome suggestions for other topics you would like to see addressed in the future. Contact Heather Eaggleston or Laurie Furibondo with questions or suggestions.

Submitted by Bryan Hensel

National Deaf Cheer Competition: NTID is proud to host the third annual National Deaf Cheerleading Competition on campus Thursday, March 6, through Sunday, March 9. Please join me in welcoming 13 deaf cheer teams—roughly 120 deaf high school cheerleaders—from around the country for this weekend-long event. If you have questions or would like to volunteer to help with the competition, please contact Skip Flanagan, NTID Athlete Development coordinator. 

Dyer Exhibit Opening: The Dyer Arts Center is pleased to host the opening of The Lewis Merkin Collection Unveiled, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28. This exhibit will be in the second floor Ohringer Gallery and will feature a collection of works recently gifted to the Dyer Arts Center’s permanent collection from the estate of Lewis M. Merkin. We hope you can join for light hors d’oeuvres as you view these newest additions to the Dyer Arts Canter collection. Please contact Marissa Woodruff with any questions.

ASL Lecture Series: Join us for the upcoming ASL Lecture Series event with Brenda Flores-Cotto noon – 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 21, in the CSD Student Development Center, room 1300/1310. Ms. Flores-Cotto, a seasoned trilingual sign language interpreter, fluent in Spanish, English, and American Sign Language, will discuss lessons learned from her 20-year career providing high-quality interpretation services for diverse clients across various settings, with a deep commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and effective communication. Please contact Jeanne Behm, coordinator of the RIT ASL and Deaf Studies Community Center, with questions. 

Save the Date - Lyon Lecture with Troy Kotsur: NTID is thrilled to host Troy Kotsur for the spring 2025 Edmund Lyon Memorial Lecture Series on Thursday, April 24, in the Panara Theater. Kotsur is winner of the 2022 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in CODA. He will be joined by his wife Deanne Bray, who will be presenting as part of the ongoing ASL Lecture Series hosted by the RIT ASL and Deaf Studies Community Center. Additional details on both events will be provided later this spring.

Kudos: Congratulations to Joe Riggio, senior director of advancement, for securing a $1.5 million bequest commitment from alumnus Mark Mellenger, ’93 BS. The funds will be used to establish the Mark Mellenger Endowed Scholarship, benefitting students who are deaf and hard of hearing at RIT/NTID. Of course, gifts of this magnitude are only possible thanks in part to years of thoughtful engagement by the Alumni Relations team. Congratulations also to Loriann Macko for her excellent work in this regard.

Submitted by Krystina Ho

Tiffany Panko and the Multidisciplinary Working Group are involved in an initiative at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, focusing on disability, inclusion, and anti-ableism in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine, or STEMM. They will share their recommendations to dismantle ableism and improve disability inclusion in STEMM at the end of the spring 2026 term. This is the second MWG convened to address systemic issues in STEMM. Recommendations of the first MWG are available on the AAAS webpage.

The 2025 Winter Resource Fair provided a collaborative opportunity between the Deaf Hub and NTID’s Department of Science and Mathematics, generating interest in Deaf Hub’s programs along with hands-on ultrasound scanning opportunities. Congratulations to the Department of Science and Mathematics for securing second place in the Best Table decoration contest, as determined by student votes.

“Shadowing Behind the Scenes,” an article about Sarah J. Hein, a deaf nurse practitioner, was recently published. This series features different deaf and hard-of-hearing healthcare professionals who had their first experience having a shadowing mentee. If you know who anyone interested in being part of this healthcare network, please share the Healthcare Professional Database and encourage them to sign up.

Events

BIPOC Empowerment in Health Care and Biomedical Science - March 26
LeeAnne Valentine, director of representation in health care and biomedical science, will host a BIPOC Empowerment in Health Care and Biomedical Science Workshop 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, followed by a lunch reception. The workshop focuses on resource sharing and providing support to BIPOC students who are interested in becoming healthcare professionals or research scientists. Contact LeeAnne Valentine with questions.

Deaf Hub Vital Signs - March 29
Mark your calendars for 3-5 p.m. Friday, March 28, for a Deaf Hub Vital Signs presentation with Ashina Singh, MD, who specializes in transplant hepatology and gastroenterology, and will share her experiences as a late-deafened professional navigating the challenges of working in the healthcare field. Her presentation is titled, “Overcoming Barriers: Underrepresented Minority Experience in an Ableist Field.” RSVP to secure your spot at the reception, and contact Krystina Ho with questions. 

Deaf Scientists’ Time
Join us at the Deaf Scientists’ Time from 4 to 5 p.m. ET to share information, resources, and opportunities for networking about research. Upcoming dates are:

• March 21, 2025
• April 18, 2025

The events take place on Zoom, meeting ID 999 0564 8803. We hope to see you soon! Contact Dyl Levenson with questions.

Upcoming application due dates

Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (U-RISE) application - Due March 23
Applications to join U-RISE for fall 2025 are due March 23. The U-RISE Trainee program is designed to help students become strong candidates for PhD programs in biomedical, biobehavioral, or clinical science. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students majoring in an eligible bachelor’s degree program, who have a GPA of 3.0 or better, and have one to three years left at RIT are encouraged to apply. Students can email Deaf Hub Biomedical Sciences Training Grants Administrator Dyl Levenson with questions.

Rochester Bridges to the Doctorate application – rolling basis
If you know a student enrolled in an MS-degree program at RIT, or starting one in fall 2025, encourage them to apply to the Bridges to the Doctorate program. The Bridges program is designed to help MS students become strong candidates for PhD programs in biomedical, biobehavioral, or clinical science. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students enrolled in an eligible RIT MS program or starting one in the fall, who have a GPA over 3.0, can email Bridges Director Bonnie Jacob for more information.

Submitted by Maria Ocasio

New Hires:

• Matthew Anderson, counselor, Academic Advising Services
• Sarah Funke, associate interpreter, DAS
• Mabel Najarro-Tibbs, interpreter, DAS
• Taylor Repetski, client care specialist, Communication Studies and Services

Transfers:

• Valerie Burgio, interpreting coordinator, DAS
• Joanne Dollhopf, assistant director for outreach and special projects, Outreach Consortium
• Eliza Fowler, assistant director for professional development, DAS
• Ashley Jung-Lebowski, associate interpreter, DAS
• Nicole Ribis, notetaker coordinator, DAS

• Heather Eaggleston, research development specialist in OADR, has maintained a significant supporting role in NTID’s government relations efforts while we work to fill her previous position. She oversaw completion of the NTID Annual Report and FY 2027 Budget Request, working closely with teams of individuals across NTID, and continues to contribute her deep expertise to our Congressional relations. Much gratitude is due to Laurie Furibondo, senior director of research development, for providing Heather with the flexibility to continue supporting our government work. Many thanks also go to Rich Dirmyer, Kari Hansen, Maria Ocasio, Pam Carmichael, Suzi Murad, Kate Sweeney and her Finance and Budget team, and everyone else who has supported these critical efforts over the past year. NTID is extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated team.
• The following NTID faculty and staff have completed the requirements for the Cultural Humility Certificate:
  • Roberto Cabrera, director NRSC STEM Academy, NTID Pre-College Programs
  • Rebecca Carpenter, research faculty, Center for Access Technology
  • Michael Fisher, lecturer, Department of ASL and Interpreting Education
  • Ali Giudice, associate interpreter, DAS
  • Jasmina Kamdar, apprentice interpreter, DAS, Randleman Program
  • Marrriner Merrill, associate professor, Department of Engineering Studies
  • Adena Poe, apprentice interpreter, DAS
  • Samantha Prayne, associate interpreter, DAS
  • Emily Pruden, captionist III, DAS
  • Ren Putz, junior creative producer, Office of External Affairs
  • Timothy Royce, captionist II, DAS
  • Suryo Sahetapy, visiting lecturer, Department of Deaf Education
  • Hannah Smith, associate interpreter, DAS
  • Jayha Smith, associate interpreter, DAS
  • Krystal Starks, senior staff assistant, Deaf Hub
  • Jennifer Verbakel, senior speech/language professional, Communication Studies and Services
  • Heather Yu, apprentice interpreter, DAS, Randleman Program

• Alum Stephanie Nogeras performs national anthem at Super Bowl LIX
• RIT and NTID performing arts students earn honors
• Alum Malik Paris performs at Philadelphia 76ers game
• Alum Christine Sun Kim exhibit at the Whitney Museum
• RIT students show off talents in "Ovation"
• Alum Gabriel Ponte-Fleary wins film award from Directors Guild of America

• Lavina Hept, who worked at NTID for 22 years until 1992, passed away Feb. 5, 2025.