Title
NTID History panel 3: Agents of Change
Subject
The impact of technological change on NTID,
Description
Content: Rapid technological change--including the rise of social media--enabled many positive shifts within the lives of deaf and hard-of-hearing people without depending on interpreters. The increased flexibility enabled more job opportunities and allowed deaf and hard-of-hearing people to become more self-sufficient.
Social media was a channel for increasing awareness about the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in every aspect of public life, from education to employment to services. This was a time of agency and empowerment for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and RIT/NTID alumni and students were part of this exiting era. Social justice, diversity, inclusion, communication styles and access came to the forefront of discussions within the NTID community.
During this time, NTID hired increasing numbers of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in administrative roles. Dr. Gerard Buckley became the first deaf or hard-of-hearing alumnus to lead NTID. Three deaf and hard-of-hearing students were elected president of RIT's Student Government Association. A deaf student became the captain of the RIT men's baseball team, continuing a tradition of deaf and hard-of-hearing leadership dating back to John Reid's '70s-era captaincy of the wrestling team. RIT/NTID alumni became President of the National Association of the Deaf, engineers for Microsoft, leaders in deaf education overseas, and more.
The Center on Access Technology, a research center focusing on accessibility in education, was established and led in large part by deaf and hard-of-hearing engineers. Many RIT/NTID students worked on technology to increase accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. More alumni started new businesses or became business leaders. The Next Big Idea, a program that encouraged RIT/NTID students to create a business plan and compete to sell their ideas, was established, providing the winners with seed money for their businesses.
Social media was a channel for increasing awareness about the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in every aspect of public life, from education to employment to services. This was a time of agency and empowerment for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and RIT/NTID alumni and students were part of this exiting era. Social justice, diversity, inclusion, communication styles and access came to the forefront of discussions within the NTID community.
During this time, NTID hired increasing numbers of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in administrative roles. Dr. Gerard Buckley became the first deaf or hard-of-hearing alumnus to lead NTID. Three deaf and hard-of-hearing students were elected president of RIT's Student Government Association. A deaf student became the captain of the RIT men's baseball team, continuing a tradition of deaf and hard-of-hearing leadership dating back to John Reid's '70s-era captaincy of the wrestling team. RIT/NTID alumni became President of the National Association of the Deaf, engineers for Microsoft, leaders in deaf education overseas, and more.
The Center on Access Technology, a research center focusing on accessibility in education, was established and led in large part by deaf and hard-of-hearing engineers. Many RIT/NTID students worked on technology to increase accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. More alumni started new businesses or became business leaders. The Next Big Idea, a program that encouraged RIT/NTID students to create a business plan and compete to sell their ideas, was established, providing the winners with seed money for their businesses.