The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) is the first and largest technological

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

in the world for students who are

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

hard of hearing Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spok ...

. As one of nine colleges within the

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 ...

(RIT) in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, NTID provides academic programs, access,

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expressed by employ ...

in-class interpreters and support services—including on-site audiological, speech-language, and

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

support. As of fall quarter 2012, NTID encompasses just under 10% of RIT's enrollment, 1259 students. Roughly 775 deaf and hard of hearing students are cross-registered into another RIT college's program with support from NTID. In addition to a master's degree in deaf education, NTID also offers a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

program in ASL-English Interpretation.

History

The institute was established in 1965 by the passage of . The law also established a National Advisory Group to find a suitable site for the school. The Advisory Group considered proposals from

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

, the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

and others before deciding on RIT as its home in 1966. Three factors helped RIT secure the responsibility for the new institute: *RIT had just moved to a new campus, so the institute would not find itself in second-hand quarters. *Rochester businessmen had enlightened views about disability in the workplace and were eager to share those views with the Advisory Group. *RIT had a trustee, Edmund Lyon, who had served as president of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and as trustee of the Rochester School for the Deaf. The institute was originally conceived as tuition-free, providing technical training as well as academic and communication skills training to 600 deaf students annually. NTID admitted its first students in 1968. Its establishment initially caused a great deal of friction on campus between hearing students and deaf students and RIT faculty and NTID faculty, the points of contention centering on the construction of new buildings for NTID, whether or not NTID faculty salaries were more generous than those of their peers, and communication differences between

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

and

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

. In the early 1980s, NTID's enrollment spiked as deaf students from the "

rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

bulge" of the mid-1960s entered their college years. Enrollment has been trending higher again in recent years; NTID's 2008 enrollment was its highest ever at 1,450, easily surpassing the previous record of 1,358 set in 1984. In 1993, NTID established its Center for Arts and Sciences to help boost the numbers of undecided (or underprepared) students who stay on to pursue a baccalaureate degree. By 2005, this program had raised the proportion of NTID students in bachelor's degree programs to 41% (from 12% twenty years earlier). The history of NTID and the art,

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, technology, and language of the Deaf community are preserved in the RIT/NTID Deaf Studies Archive, which is housed on campus in the RIT Archive Collections in Wallace Library.

Notable alumni

Clayton Valli Clayton Valli (May 25, 1951 – March 7, 2003) was an American prominent deaf linguist and American Sign Language (ASL) poet whose work helped further to legitimize ASL and introduce people to the richness of American Sign Language literatu ...

Daniel Durant Daniel N. Durant (born December 24, 1989) is an American stage and screen actor. Deaf since birth, his breakthrough starring role was as Moritz Stiefel in the 2015 Broadway revival of '' Spring Awakening''. Durant had a major supporting role in ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Education in Rochester, New York Educational institutions established in 1965 Rochester Institute of Technology colleges Deaf universities and colleges in the United States Schools for the deaf in New York (state) Technological universities in the United States Private universities and colleges in New York (state) Universities and colleges in Monroe County, New York 1965 establishments in New York (state)

History

Notable alumni

See also

References

Further reading

External links