NTID News

Dance Feature: RIT/NTID's "Off the Wall"

2012-02-01T11:26:57-08:00

By Casey Carlsen, CITY Newspaper - Jan. 31, 2012

A set of large, rough-hewn wooden shapes splattered with white paint bestow an urban- playground-feel upon the stage at a recent rehearsal of the RIT/NTID Dance Company -- that is, the student dance group at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology. The dancers, some deaf, some hearing, and many on the in-between spectrum, are draped about the set, leaning against a giant square frame or perched atop a low rectangular one, waiting for their cue to begin moving, and start grooving.

Thomas Warfield, director of the RIT/NTID Dance Company, crosses the stage with wide running steps to switch on the music. As the soulful keyboard strains of Liz Story spill from the boombox, the dancers come to life.

Three young women step forward, circle their shoulders together showily and then ease their way tentatively through a free-standing wooden square, pausing in the middle to peer out cautiously, glancing from side to side as if to ensure that the coast was clear. This dance piece is called "Open Window," and conveys a strong sense of tentative beginnings, new opportunities. As the music soars, the mood onstage lifts to one of growing confidence. A male dancer leaps through a rectangular "window" and then reclines on the horizontal base, head propped carelessly on his hand.

After a few minutes, Warfield stops the action to work with a few dancers on leaping more aggressively through a rectangular frame. The dancers vary greatly in ability and body type, but they all seem happy to be involved. They have been rehearsing together at least two hours a day, five days a week, for months now. Their production, "Off the Wall," choreographed by Warfield, premieres February 9-12.

Warfield conceived the show in part as a means to expose the students to other art forms, taking them to the Memorial Art Gallery, where they photographed paintings, and to the Rochester Museum and Science Center, where they visited the 9/11 exhibit and took notes about the artifacts they saw. All that fed into the creation of the company's current production.

"What is the sign for ‘hesitation'?" Warfield asks aloud as he simultaneously signs the question to those clustered around him. Instantaneously, a flurry of hands are thrust outwards - palms flat, arms straight - while torsos and heads recoil as in fear.

"Right," says Warfield, repeating the sign with the liquid fluency of a dance movement.

His signing is impressive, but Warfield shrugs off compliments, saying he took a few crash courses when he first came to NTID back in 1998 and just picked up the rest along the way.

"It looks like you're afraid to go through the shape," he tells the dancers. "Less hesitation." And he demonstrates the move for them, his long legs clad in grey-blue tights scissoring powerfully through the doorway-shaped set piece. At 49, his bearing remains striking; even singular movements are imbued with an easy grace and rich theatricality.
Warfield has been director of dance at NTID and an assistant professor in the Department of Cultural and Creative Studies since 1998. He teaches dance, dance-related performance courses, and the original course "Identity in Social Sciences." He also chairs the RIT President's Commission for Pluralism and Inclusion.

Warfield is a singer, dancer, actor, model, choreographer, director, producer, educator, activist, and poet - he is the quintessential Renaissance man. He has performed in "La Boheme" at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House, and with the Joffrey Ballet. He has worked with directors Franco Zeffirelli and Spike Lee; composer John Adams; scientist Carl Sagan; and singers Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills -- to name but a handful of his accomplishments.

Warfield was born and raised in Rochester, the child of an activist minister mother and a singer/conductor/musician father. By sixth grade the young Warfield had written his first play; at 12, he performed with the Opera Company Children's Chorus in Rochester. At 17 he was in New York City living the charmed life of an American Ballet Theatre student. But when Warfield slipped on a piece of paper in the locker room and fell, severely injuring upper thigh muscles, he was forced to forfeit his place in the ranks of rising dancers.

He managed to stay on in the city, pursuing other artistic avenues, until he started over again at 22 by enrolling in the dance program at SUNY Purchase.

After graduating with his BFA in dance performance, Warfield joined the Dragon Dance Company of Macao. This global experience provided the incentive for Warfield to found PeaceArt International, a locally based global outreach not-for-profit organization using the arts and the creative process to foster world peace.

Sitting in the darkened theater on a Saturday morning, I am given a crash course in deaf culture. Or, perhaps, a sub-culture made up of the deaf, hearing, and partially hearing students at NTID.

It is difficult to immediately determine which students can hear and which cannot. They all seem proficient in sign language. Only certain atonality in speech quality tips me off to some dancers' deafness. There also seems to be more of a physical component to communication between this group of mixed students. A tap on the shoulder to get someone's attention, an exaggerated come-hither motion to draw people closer. Then, too, there is the sharing of insiders' humor, the gently teasing banter that only close friends can safely employ.

This is all part of Warfield's plan, the wider picture in his dance program here at NTID.

"I am trying to establish a sense of building a community between the hearing and deaf communities," he has. "A lot of social integration happens on this stage. To me, that's as important as the dancing. It forces you to figure out within yourself how you interact with someone unlike yourself."

NTID is one of only two federally established colleges for the deaf in the United States (the other being Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.). Consequently, Rochester has more deaf people per capita than any other city in the country.

This is the first year that Antonietta Alfano, 23, a second-year transfer student majoring in nutritional management, has been with the company. Sixteen years of ballet training put her on the upper end of the experience spectrum within the company. Onstage, she is fastidious, marking the choreography again and again whenever there is a lull in the action. Her smiles and energy make it apparent that she enjoys performing. Alfano categorizes herself as hard of hearing. With her hearing aides in place she can hear normally, but she is also a capable signer.

"Dancing together gives us a chance to associate with each other through a shared interest," she says. "It's amazing how the deaf people feel the music, not hear it."

Warfield is convinced that deaf people have ways of connecting to music beyond simply feeling the rhythm. Based on his observations of deaf dancers responding to music over the years, he has some theories to offer up.

"I think there's much more to vibration of sound than merely the rhythm of the tempo," he says. "I think our senses pick up other cues. Energy. We connect to other sensations in the vibration. The nuances are communicated to us through the sensations of the vibration."

He says that multiple times over the years he has seen hearing dancers look to deaf dancers to regain count when they have lost the rhythm. The deaf dancers internalize the tempo.

Another member of the dance group, Mark Leonardo, 21, and fully hearing, was originally introduced to the dance company when he accompanied a friend to auditions. Warfield encouraged Leonardo to try out as well and the packaging-science major is now in his second year with the company.

"The stress builds up and I enjoy coming to dance every night and just having this time to myself. It's a cool down," Leonardo says.

Leonardo and Alfano will perform with the other members of NTID/RIT Dance Company when "Off the Wall" is performed next week. Specific show times are Thursday, February 9-Saturday, February 11, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, February 12, at 2 p.m. Reservations can be made at ntidtix@rit.edu.

Hundreds See "The Hammer" on Screen and in Person

2012-02-01T08:55:00-08:00

More than 400 people on Monday attended the RIT premiere of “The Hammer,” a film based on the life of Matt Hamill, a Rochester Institute of Technology Hall of Fame wrestler and three-time NCAA Wrestling Division III national champion.

The film, which was made two years ago in and around Rochester, was shown in the Clark Gym, the same venue where Hamill competed as a student and where several scenes from the movie were shot.

Hamill, also the first deaf wrestler to become an NCAA champion, said he was impressed with the turnout. At his request, proceeds from the screening are being sent to a scholarship fund at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and the RIT Athletics program.

Hamill answered several questions and signed posters for hundreds of people after the screening. Many of the questions were about his life, and about his more recent career as a contestant on the Ultimate Fighter Championship. RIT Student Government President Greg Pollock and NTID Student Congress President Gerilee Cristina were emcees.

Hamill retired from the UFC last year due to a shoulder injury, but teased the crowd, telling them that “something big” might be announced soon.

Hamill, 35, now lives in Utica, N.Y., where he opened The Cage, a sports bar and training facility. He said he plans to hold a summer camp in Utica this year for deaf individuals who want to pursue wrestling.

Copies of “The Hammer” are now for sale on DVD in Wal-Mart and Best Buy stores nationwide.

View news coverage from WUHF-TV and WHEC-TV.

Leadership in STEM Education Celebrated

2012-01-24T13:59:00-08:00

Three awards totaling more than $7 million that will help educate and employ deaf and hard-of-hearing students and their teachers were acknowledged in a ceremony in NTID’s Dyer Arts Center Monday.

“We’re here today to recognize the project teams that have spearheaded three multi-million dollar awards benefitting the deaf community,” said NTID President Gerry Buckley. “The principle investigators and co-PIs whose vision helped create these programs contribute to RIT’s and NTID’s increasing role as a national leader in education of people who are deaf and hard of hearing.”

Provost Jeremy Haefner also congratulated those involved with the awards.

“I am particularly impressed with the collaborative nature of the PIs and co-PIs honored today, and with the tradition of leadership in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students that has been established here. It is a tradition that will prosper and grow.”

Ryne Raffaelle, RIT’s Vice President for Research and Associate Provost, described the significance of each of the grant projects for RIT/NTID and the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. “Obviously this is quite a momentous occasion,” he said. "Their accomplishments speak volumes to the type of innovative leadership that occurs on this campus on a daily basis."

The three major grants received by NTID faculty and staff last year are:

DeafTEC: Technological Education Center for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students, $4.45 million: Funded through the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program, the center will provide STEM-related resources for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and their teachers and counselors in high schools and community colleges, and for employers hiring deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to successfully integrate them into the workplace in highly skilled technician jobs in which these individuals are currently underrepresented and underutilized. DeafTEC also will create partnerships among high schools, community colleges and industry to improve access to technological education and employment for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Donna Lange, PI; Gary Long and Myra Pelz, co-PIs.
Deaf STEM Community Alliance, $1.6 million: Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Research in Disability Education program, this alliance of NTID’s Center on Access Technology with Cornell University and Camden County College in New Jersey, will improve the retention and graduation rates of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in STEM majors and facilitate the transition of deaf and hard-of-hearing students to STEM baccalaureate and graduate programs as well as to employment. Lisa Elliot, PI; James DeCaro and E. William Clymer, co-PIs.
Preparing STEM and Minority Teachers of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students, $1.2 million: Funded by the Department of Education, this project will address the critical shortage of teachers who are qualified both to teach deaf and hard-of-hearing students and to teach them a specific content area, especially mathematics and science. Additionally, the project will address the shortage of teachers from African American, Latino, Native American and Asian American backgrounds. Gerry Bateman, PI; Christopher Kurz and Susan Lane-Outlaw, co-PIs.

“I have no doubt that we will be attending more events like this as NTID continues to innovate and lead the way in educating deaf and hard-of-hearing students for many years to come,” Haefner said.

Representatives of several Congressional delegates attended, including those from the offices of Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Louise Slaughter, Rep. Tom Reed, Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle and Rep. Kathleen Hochul.

Poet Joshua Bennett Expresses MLK’s Legacy at RIT/NTID

2012-01-23T12:32:00-08:00

Honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. took on a special meaning this year at RIT’s 30th annual Expressions of King’s Legacy Celebration.

Noted poet Joshua Bennett, who wrote “Tamara’s Opus,” apologizing to his sister for not learming sign language, was a guest for the celebration along with his sister, Tamara, who became deaf at age 2.

“Tamara has taught me a lot about what it takes to be a teacher: profound patience and a profound love,” Bennett said.

The evening before the Legacy Celebration in RIT’s Field House, hundreds of students, staff and community members filled NTID’s Student Development Center to hear Bennett talk about his work as a poet, and his life experience growing up with his sister.

“I’m definitely proud of my brother,” Tamara Bennett said, using sign language. “His work is like beautiful music to me.”

Bennett performed a poem he wrote about his younger brother, Levi, who was diagnosed as autistic.

“He sees things I don’t see,” Bennett said. “Levi is short for Levitate … a genius destined for the sky.”

Student performance groups Mental Graffiti, from RIT, and Dangerous Signs, from NTID, also performed poetry – in spoken voice and in sign language. At the conclusion of the event, the two groups combined to perform “Tamara’s Opus.” Bennett was obviously moved.

“It was a tremendous surprise, one that touched my heart,” he said. “This world is for the deaf and hearing to meet. And sometimes, beautiful things can happen. There’s a real cultural mix, of ages, ethnicity and communication here, and this is an example of what we can do. Diversity is hard, but not impossible.”

Bennett, 23, a Ph.D. student at Princeton University, studying English, says he was shy and nerdy when growing up. When a student asked why he started writing poetry, Bennett said he wasn’t tough enough to become a rapper.

“That’s so much work, to be tough all the time,” he said. “You can’t be tough when you eat an apple.”

Bennett said he discovered an outlet for his creativity after attending a theatrical performance.

“The stage is where I saw people like me,” he said, “people who have had pain or hunger to tell a story, like me. We were all just equal in that space.”

He has considered becoming a minister, and plans to become more fluent in American Sign Language when he takes courses this summer.

“It’s never too late to learn something that can change your life, and hopefully others’,” he said.

He called his visit to RIT/NTID, made possible by NTID, the RIT Office of Diversity & Inclusion and the AALANA Collegiate Association at RIT, “mind blowing” and “humbling. It was really touching in a deep way.”

Bennett said is he grateful his audiences have enjoyed his work. “But I hope they also will remember the commitment to love people even when it’s difficult,” he said.

NTID Assistant Vice President Named

2012-01-18T12:27:00-08:00

Mike Servé, who has managed NTID’s financial operations since 1982, has been named Assistant Vice President for Finance and Budget at the college.

Servé, who began his career with NTID in 1980, is responsible for ensuring that NTID’s budget is in balance and that all of the college’s expenditures conform to the rules and regulations of the federal government. He works closely with other RIT divisions and provides assistance to NTID’s president in working with Congress and the U.S. Department of Education to secure the federal funding necessary to support NTID programs.

In 1992, Servé was awarded the NTID National Advisory Group’s Outstanding Service Award, and in 2001, he received the RIT Staff Recognition Award for Excellence in Increasing Work Productivity. He has served on a number of NTID and RIT committees, including the NTID Strategic Planning Committee, and is a past president of RIT Staff Council.

He and his wife, Barbara, live in Pittsford. They volunteer their time with certified therapy dogs and have organized sessions to bring dogs to campus to help students unwind during final exam weeks.

Servé earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business from RIT. Prior to joining NTID, he worked for the Monroe County Department of Social Services and the Rochester Hearing and Speech Center.

RIT Premiere of “The Hammer” Set for Jan. 30

2012-01-17T09:09:00-08:00

Matt Hamill, a Rochester Institute of Technology Hall of Fame wrestler who is the subject of the recently released movie, “The Hammer,” is expected to attend the RIT premiere of the film on Monday, Jan. 30.

Proceeds from the screening will be split between an endowed scholarship fund for students at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf, and RIT’s wrestling program. Hamill was a three-time NCAA Wrestling Division III National Champion while attending RIT.

“NTID and RIT changed my life,” said Hamill, who gained fame as an Ultimate Fighter Championship contestant. “I hope that the movie sends a message letting people know that anything is possible with hard work and dedication.”

Starring Russell Harvard, Shoshannah Stern and RIT/NTID alum Michael Anthony Spady, “The Hammer” was made in and around Rochester. Many scenes from RIT and Rochester School for the Deaf are featured. The film won numerous awards at film festivals around the country and was released in 100 cities in October. “The Hammer” is available for sale nationwide on DVD/VOD on Jan. 31.

The film, which has open captions, will be shown at 7 p.m. in RIT’s Clark Gym – the same location where Hamill won many of his matches. The gym is also prominently featured in the film. Hamill is expected to answer audience questions following the screening. Interpreting services will be provided.

The screening is co-sponsored by RIT Student Government, NTID Student Congress, RIT Alumni Relations and the NTID Office of the President.

Tickets will be sold at the door for $7, or $5 for RIT students. To reserve tickets, visit www.RITtickets.com or call (585) 475-4121.

Marianne Gustafson Named NTID Associate Dean

2012-01-11T10:13:00-08:00

Marianne Gustafson, a professor in NTID’s Department of Communication Studies and Services, has been named Associate Dean for Curriculum and Special Projects by NTID President Gerry Buckley.

Gustafson, who came to NTID nearly 40 years ago, has taught more than a dozen courses and instructed scores of students. She has published scholarly articles and presented at numerous national and international conferences.

For 12 years, Gustafson served as NTID’s Curriculum Resource Associate, guiding the development, review and approval of all of NTID’s curriculum actions. In that role, she also collaborated with chairs and program directors in the creation, implementation and reporting of student learning outcomes assessment.

“Through her interactions with faculty, staff, administration and relevant committees, Marianne has enhanced NTID’s reputation across the university for being a leader in outcomes assessment and curriculum proposals,” Buckley said. “I am confident that she has demonstrated the knowledge, administrative skill and interpersonal style that will make her very successful in her expanded role.”

In her new role, Gustafson will serve as a member of NTID’s senior leadership team – the NTID Administrative Council.

A native of the Chicago area, Gustafson moved to Rochester as a child. She received her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University and her master’s in Education from Syracuse University. She also holds professional certifications related to Speech-Language Pathology.

She began working with individuals who are deaf around 1970 when she worked with NTID students at an insurance company in downtown Rochester. It was such a positive experience that she decided to contact NTID after her graduation to see if they were hiring speech-language professionals. She joined the college in 1974, the year NTID’s main academic building, Lyndon Baines Johnson Hall, opened on the RIT campus.

She now lives in the Rochester suburb of Chili.

“I am very honored to be given the opportunity to serve NTID in this challenging capacity,” she says. “Being part of the Administrative Council will give me a broader view of NTID, student life and academic affairs, which I can bring to my work with faculty, staff and administrators. I look forward to collaborating in the creation of new programs consistent with NTID’s Strategic Decisions 2020 goals, and promoting the development of future leaders of NTID.”

NTID Programs Help Deaf Community Thrive

2012-01-09T10:44:00-08:00

By Stuart Low

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Media Group

As a hard-of-hearing teenager from St. Louis, Gerard Buckley found his life transformed when he enrolled at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

Now he's repaying the favor. As the first NTID alumnus to become its president, he's losing no time in creating new projects for this college at Rochester Institute of Technology.

To an unusual degree, Buckley has merged his identity with that of his alma mater. NTID was the first school to meet his needs as an increasingly deaf student. He has forged most of his administrative career there and become its most visible symbol.

"Being deaf himself, he is a great role model for deaf people," said Kim Kurz, chair of NTID's Interpreter Education Department. "He shows them that deaf people can climb the ladder."

In a way, Buckley may be considered an heir of the 1988 "Deaf President Now!" protest that helped install I. King Jordan as head of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. But Buckley also can credit his 21-year experience as an NTID administrator for taking the helm a year ago.

"I know about the issues and can get right to the heart of them," said Buckley, 56, a Macedon resident. "The faculty appreciates that fact."

"Being an alumnus gives him an intimate and deep connection to NTID," agreed Todd Pagano, associate professor in the science and mathematics department. "In return, he guides the institution with great competence and resolve."

But guiding NTID has never been easy, given the diverse needs of its 1,547 students and 587 staff and faculty members. Since it was launched in 1965, the federally funded school has weathered profound changes in deaf culture, academic priorities and financing. It seems to be entering a new period of stability and growth, as reflected in the following ventures:

This spring, the college begins construction of a 23,000-square-foot building to house research centers and student project areas. These will include an "Innovation and Entrepreneur's Lab," in keeping with RIT's strong focus on entrepreneurship.

The cost will be $8 million, with $1.75 million financed by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund. Completion is expected by spring 2013.

NTID plans to launch a joint degree program with Gallaudet, a liberal arts school for deaf students. It would train health care workers and improve communication with deaf and hard-of-hearing patients.

Buckley considers health care a vital growth area for jobs — and he speaks from personal experience. His daughter, Jennie Miller of Macedon, is a deaf veterinarian and an NTID graduate. His son, Ryan, graduates from RIT this year and plans a career in health care.

The college will use a $1.2 million federal grant to recruit and train educators of the deaf and hard of hearing. Scholarships will go to certain NTID graduate students interested in teaching science, technology, engineering and math to this population. The program also will seek out participants who are African-American, Latin American, Native American and Asian-American.

Buckley recently created a program, "Emerging Leadership," to help NTID employees take up leadership roles as more than 200 workers prepare to retire in the next few years.

The scope of these ventures may surprise local residents not familiar with NTID. The school is arguably the heart of Rochester's deaf and hard-of-hearing population, which is considered to have America's largest per capita concentration. Previous surveys have found about 7,000 deaf and tens of thousands of hard-of-hearing residents in greater Rochester, though no formal census has ever been taken.

The college helps account for the area's many sign language users, deaf employees and public facilities equipped for deaf users. They make Rochester a more diverse community — but not nearly as diverse as NTID itself.

The school serves American and international students who speak, sign, read lips or use FM signals to their hearing aids. Some rely on visual aids, Web-based materials or individual tutors. When they take classes in other RIT colleges, interpreters and captioning devices are available.

Despite this range of services, NTID students often complain that too few of their teachers are deaf. Buckley is trying to increase their ranks.

This year, 111 of the 587 faculty and staff members are deaf or hard-of-hearing. That's a higher ratio than it may seem, since 200 are hearing interpreters and captionists. More than half of recent faculty hires are deaf.

Meanwhile, the character of the student body is undergoing changes. Twenty years ago, many students at Gallaudet and NTID championed a tight-knit deaf culture that used American Sign Language and rejected the notion of deafness as a handicap. That ideal is still around but faces a dramatic challenge — the growing acceptance of cochlear implants.

Surgically implanted in the inner ear, this device can restore partial hearing and improve speech. It was still a controversial procedure in the mid-1990s, when some NTID members called it a misplaced effort to "fix deafness."

The implants became more popular as their technology improved. Today, 330 NTID students have them, and the number keeps going up.

"Most of them had implants in middle school or high school," explained Buckley, who speaks and signs with equal facility. "But if a child gets an implant at age 1, he's more inclined to speak. We anticipate that we'll need to be ready for more of those students."

He doesn't see NTID's varied modes of communication as an educational hurdle. A more stubborn problem is that students' previous schools often had flimsy deaf support services, hampering their ability to learn. A record 71 percent of NTID's new students come from schools or colleges that serve both deaf and hearing students.

If these schools fail to help deaf students master basic academic skills, they face a tougher time at NTID. It's one reason that the college's graduation rate stands at 53 percent. But Buckley notes that NTID graduates have exceptional success in finding jobs — 90 percent within a year of graduation.

That statistic is helping win government money for the school. About $65 million of NTID's $89 million annual budget is federally funded. Both of Buckley's predecessors — former NTID leaders Robert Davila and T. Alan Hurwitz — vigorously promoted the college's interests on Capitol Hill.

Buckley and Hurwitz addressed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Oct. 11. Buckley told legislators that NTID graduates' high employment rate means fewer deaf Americans relying on federal programs.

"For fiscal year 2011, we actually got an increase of $2.4 million," he said. "Our local delegation was wonderfully supportive."

In Washington and on campus, he has been a vocal booster for Rochester and the resources it provides for its deaf population. For that reason, he's dismayed by the small number of NTID students finding work here. Only 17 of the last 96 graduates to enter the labor force were hired in Rochester and its surrounding counties.

"A lot of them wanted to stay," he said. "But the local job market is so tight. So I encourage our graduates to become leaders elsewhere — and then come back."

NTID Leader is Passionate for Education

Chatting with students or brainstorming with faculty members, Gerard Buckley has the style of an old-fashioned college leader.

He comes across as genial, discursive and a shameless cheerleader for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college at Rochester Institute of Technology.

His easygoing joviality seems natural, not manufactured for fundraising purposes. But since he's the first NTID alumnus to become its leader, he doesn't mind advertising his close allegiance. At a recent interview, he wore a dark pinstripe suit with an RIT tiger logo pinned to the lapel.

And whenever he talks about his early life, he points out the crucial role that NTID played.

He grew up in St. Louis with six siblings who all became educators.

"My parents both were proud Bostonian Irish Catholics who believed in the importance of service and giving back," he says. "They instilled a strong appreciation for education and learning in each of us."

He was born with a hearing loss that gradually grew more profound, challenging local schools that had few support services. At his small Catholic high school, he relied on reading rather than classroom lectures to absorb information.

"One of my math teachers talked like this," he said, pursing his lips tightly. "So I didn't become very good at math.

"I was part of the last generation to go through the educational system without a variety of services for deaf students. There weren't role models in medicine, law and other fields, so many of them didn't aim as high."

All that changed, he added, when the U.S. Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. It prohibited discrimination based on disability and had far-reaching effects in the classroom and workplace.

But Buckley's own career prospects after high school seemed slim. Then at age 16, he took a driving test that showed him a new path.

"The teacher told me, 'I have a deaf brother and there are colleges for the deaf,'" he recalled. "I decided that I wanted to go someplace where communication wasn't an issue. I enrolled at NTID and fell in love with it."

He also discovered a passion for social work and earned degrees from RIT/NTID, the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas. While living in that last state, he made a sobering discovery: Social work is richer in personal satisfaction than monetary gain.

"I was broke, working as a dorm supervisor and living at the school for free," he said. "But one day, I met a volunteer there called Judy."

He and that volunteer, now a well-known sign language interpreter, just celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. They live at Owlscroft Farm, a 30-acre property near Macedon, and have three grown children.

Buckley put his social work skills to a new use when he returned to NTID in 1990. He headed its Educational Outreach Department and Center for Outreach, and served on its Social Work Support Team. Later, he took leadership posts in student services and marketing, and taught social work courses.

Despite that workload, he makes a point of getting to know the students.

Lauren Aggen, a 22-year-old student from Algonquin, Ill., was watching an RIT hockey game when a man behind her called out her name. She couldn't place his face, so he introduced himself as Gerard Buckley.

"I really didn't expect that on this huge campus, the president would know my name!" she said. "He is a presence on campus that lifts the spirits of students."

Stephen Aldersley Named NTID Associate VP for Academic Affairs

2011-12-23T14:18:00-08:00

Stephen Aldersley, an educator and administrator at RIT/NTID for 32 years, has been named NTID associate vice president for academic affairs, responsible for all academic programs and services at NTID and the academic support services provided to deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the other eight colleges of RIT.

He will have budget and planning responsibility for 260 faculty and staff members.

NTID President Gerry Buckley announced the appointment following a national search.

Aldersley’s appointment is effective Jan. 1. He replaces Laurie Brewer, who is stepping down as she prepares to retire.

Aldersley has served as associate dean for academic administration since 2008. He served as Department Chair of English and of Liberal Studies from 1991 until 2008. He has conducted research related to how deaf students learn English, curriculum and assessment of English language development among deaf students, the history of organizations serving deaf people, the application of special education law in court cases involving deaf children, and the evolution of comprehensive institutions of higher education into doctoral-granting institutions.

He holds a doctoral degree in education from the University of Rochester and has served as an Impartial Hearing Officer for the State of New York.

Prior to his arrival at NTID, Aldersley taught middle school in his native England.

“I love being around and working with young people,” he says. “And I very much enjoy higher education administration. I’ve enjoyed being a chair, an associate dean, and I’m looking forward to exciting new challenges in this position as we implement NTID’s new strategic plan and prepare for the conversion from a quarter-based calendar to a semester system.”

Aldersley says he "feels blessed to have been able to spend the majority of my career at RIT/NTID, which offers unique opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. “Working with them and seeing them succeed is a privilege. It’s a wonderful place to work.”

Employment Rate Remains High for RIT/NTID Grads

2011-12-20T08:55:00-08:00

Despite the challenging economic environment in the past few years, nine out of 10 graduates from RIT/NTID who seek employment upon graduation are landing jobs within a year.

“As long as a graduate has good technical and soft skills, cooperative experience and a resume that represents him or her well, there is no reason why he or she can’t find a job,” says John Macko, director of NTID’s Center on Employment.

Many graduates are finding jobs in engineering, computer science, business and science, Macko says.

A sampling of the jobs:

Christopher Samp, a Public Policy major, was hired as a staff assistant in the Washington, D.C. office of Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
Michael Anthony, who received bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Game Design, was hired as a software development engineer by Microsoft the day after his interview with the company.
Alexandra Johnson, an Engineering major, was hired by GE Aviation near Boston months before her graduation in May.

Some enterprising students became self-employed, starting businesses for themselves. Others found jobs with federal agencies and defense contractors. Although alums have settled throughout the United States, many students this year have found jobs in southern California, central Florida and the areas near Chicago and Pittsburgh. In many cases, that mirrors where those students were from, because many prefer to work near their hometowns and families.

NTID’s Center on Employment kept busy this past year educating employers about RIT and the skills its students have. Nearly 700 employees at 34 companies across the country attended a “Working Together” workshop, where NCE staff members give presentations about working with someone who is deaf or hard of hearing.

And 42 companies attended NTID’s Job Fair in October, where prospective employers collect resumes from students seeking a 10-week co-op or permanent job upon graduation.

“One of the reasons our students find jobs is because of their co-op experience, and because RIT is a good school,” Macko says.

Created in 1965 by Congress, NTID remains the leader in career-focused college education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Using salary data of RIT/NTID graduates and comparing them with salaries from deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who didn’t graduate or even attend college, a study in conjunction with Cornell University and the Social Security Administration concludes that deaf and hard-of-hearing RIT/NTID graduates earn more than twice that of their non-graduating peers.