News by Topic: Deaf Community

RIT’s open programs office has received a nearly $500,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to build external partnerships and continue supporting those doing work in the open community.

The 31st annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on July 28 featured some of the best in undergraduate research ideas and solutions. Research proposals were featured in a series of oral and poster presentations throughout the day. Students who were unable to present their research at the in-person event can showcase their research at the International Day Online Gallery on Aug. 3.

RIT's 2022-2023 theater season will include Everybody, a morality play on death; a production celebrating Thomas Warfield’s 25th anniversary of dance at NTID; a musical on unexpected connections; a play of episodic poems on deafness, violence, and resistance; and a dance production of an extended 1970s progressive rock song.

This summer has taken third-year political science student Kaitlin Sommer from her hometown of Rochester, N.Y., to Washington, D.C. She has earned an internship working for U.S. Rep. Joseph Morelle, who represents New York’s 25th congressional district.

Jorge M. Rodriguez ’15 (online Executive MBA), chief executive officer of Salt Lake City-headquartered Sorenson Communications, has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications and information technology industries—including in both domestic and international markets.

When audiences head to Cinemark theaters to catch a movie this July, they’ll also see a commercial produced by students from RIT and NTID. The short film, Say Cheese, was awarded the grand prize in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films (CCRF) program.

The New York Times features Christine Sun Kim ’02 (applied arts and sciences).

Jonathan Hopkins, a beloved member of the interpreting team for the College of Art and Design, has retired. But many others know Hopkins from his work as an interpreter for a wide range of activities at RIT including sports games and practices, stage performances, Native American events, and art classroom sessions.

Alana Smith, a Rochester Institute of Technology graduate, is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to serve overseas after an unprecedented two-year Peace Corps evacuation from more than 60 countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For villagers in poet Ilya Kaminsky’s book Deaf Republic, deafness becomes an act of revolt against a totalitarian government. Deaf Republic is the subject of the NEA Big Read project during National Deaf History Month in April 2023, hosted by NTID.

WHEC-TV features Thomas Warfield, director of dance in NTID’s Department for Performing Arts, who received the New York State Commendation Award.

Matt Huenerfauth has been named dean of the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. Huenerfauth, who is an expert in computing accessibility and served as chair of RIT’s School of Information (iSchool) for the past two years, was chosen after an international search.