T. Alan Hurwitz (born September 17, 1942) is an American educator who served as the tenth President of

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

from 2010 to 2015. He is the first person born deaf, and first

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, to hold this position. Previously, he served as President of the

National Technical Institute for the Deaf The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) is the first and largest technological college in the world for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. As one of nine colleges within the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Roches ...

and Vice President and Dean of

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

. He served in a variety of other roles for most of NTID's 40-year history. Hurwitz attended the

Central Institute for the Deaf Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) is a school for the deaf that teaches students using listening and spoken language. The school is located in St. Louis, Missouri near Washington University in St. Louis. History CID was founded in 1914 by ...

. Hurwitz started at NTID in 1970 as an educational specialist in RIT's College of Engineering after working for

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own ...

Corp. since 1965. He subsequently held a number of progressively more responsible positions, including Support Department Chair for Engineering and Computer Science Programs, Director for NTID Support Services, Associate Dean for Educational Support Services Programs, Associate Vice President for NTID Outreach and External Affairs, and Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Hurwitz has been active in a variety of professional and deafness-related organizations and serves on a number of boards of organizations serving deaf persons, including the Rochester School for the Deaf and the

National Captioning Institute The National Captioning Institute, Inc. (NCI) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides real-time and off-line closed captioning, subtitling and translation, described video, web captioning, and Spanish captioning for televisio ...

. He is a former president of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), and has traveled and lectured extensively nationally and internationally. He earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, an M.S. in electrical engineering from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

, and an Ed.D. in curriculum and teaching from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

. On October 18, 2009, Hurwitz was selected as the 10th president of

. He took office on January 1, 2010. Hurwitz retired on December 31, 2015, with

Roberta Cordano Roberta "Bobbi" Cordano (born November 29, 1963) is the 11th president of Gallaudet University. Cordano is the first deaf woman and the first openly LGBT person to become president of Gallaudet University; she is openly lesbian. Life Cordano o ...

succeeding him as the eleventh president of Gallaudet University. Hurwitz was born profoundly deaf, to deaf parents.

References

External links

www.deafpeople.com bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurwitz, Alan 1942 births Living people Rochester Institute of Technology administrators University of Rochester alumni McKelvey School of Engineering alumni Saint Louis University alumni Educators of the deaf People from Sioux City, Iowa Presidents of Gallaudet University