Hi5—September 27, 2019

We want to acknowledge and thank PhenomWorks LLC for producing Hi5 video content from April to now. University Communications is proud to support the signing ecosystem!

We also want to remind our community to make Gallaudet your charity on Amazon Smile! Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchases when you shop using this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-1643010 #AmazonGives 

Recap: International Day of Sign Languages and International Week of the Deaf

Our observances of the International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) and the International Week of the Deaf (IWD) were a resounding success! On Monday, President Cordano, World Federation of the Deaf president Joseph J. Murray, and others welcomed community members. This was followed by a cake cutting. The same afternoon, we hosted presentations on the Clin d’Oeil Festival and the Payne Fellowship program for international study. On Tuesday, the Department of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies and ASL Connect conducted a poster session and a panel on language rights and vitality. 

These events were part of a worldwide celebration of Deaf people, their culture, their language, and their achievements under the auspices of the World Federation of the Deaf. The theme of this year’s observance was “Sign Language Rights for All!” Thanks to the Office of the President, the Department of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies, and ASL Connect for sponsoring this year’s events. We are already looking forward to next year!

Gallaudet’s Technology Access Program awarded $4.6 million grant

The Gallaudet University Technology Access Program has been awarded $4.625 million over a five-year project period for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology for People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH-RERC).

This grant is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research under the Administration for Community Living in the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Christian Vogler is project director, and Ms. Linda Kozma-Spytek is co-director.

The Gallaudet DHH-RERC is an applied research and development center that focuses on a specific intersection of technology and disability with internal collaborators from Gallaudet’s Department of Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences and Department of Science, Technology and Mathematics, and external collaborators from the University of Iowa, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Minnesota, the American Institutes for Research, as well as deaf and hard of hearing consumer organizations. 

There are currently 18 RERCs nationwide; the Gallaudet DHH-RERC is the only one that is dedicated to deaf and hard of hearing issues. The other RERCs focus on other disability and technology areas. 

This project is supported in part by grant number 90REGE0013, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. The dollar amount of federal funds awarded is $925,000 for the period of September 30, 2019 through September 30, 2020. The percentage of total cost of the project financed with federal funding is 91%. The percentage and dollar amount of the total costs funded by non-governmental sources is 9% at $90,973.

Congratulations to Dr. Vogler and Ms. Kozma-Spytek!

Gallaudet Technology Services receives Oracle award

Gallaudet Technology Services received two prestigious awards during Oracle Open World, an annual conference held September 16-19 at the George R. Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. Earl Parks, ’99, executive director of GTS, and Daryl Frelich, ’97, director of Enterprise Information Systems, accepted the PeopleSoft Innovation Award and the Cloud Platform Innovation Award on behalf of the university. Gallaudet was one of just four institutions of higher education in the People Innovation category, and the only U.S. university among the three schools chosen for the Cloud Platform Innovation Award. Congratulations!

Congressional sports events held on campus

Gallaudet proudly hosted the 21st annual Congressional Basketball Game on September 17, and the Congressional Football Game on September 24. 

There were actually two basketball games, involving Congressional staff, lobbyists, and Members of Congress. A youth clinic preceded the two games. The Hoops for Youth Foundation, which supports at-risk children, sponsored the evening’s events.

The football game, in which Members of Congress and former National Football League players took on the United States Capitol Police, benefitted three non-profit organizations: The Capitol Police Memorial Fund, Our Military Kids, and A Advantage 4 Kids. It was preceded by an NFL Play Football clinic for deaf and hearing children, including KDES students. President Cordano welcomed the enthusiastic crowd, the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders performed, and the U.S. Capitol Police won, 14-4, to retain the Longest Yard Trophy and bragging rights for the next two years. 

National Hispanic Heritage Month continues!

Gallaudet’s celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month began on September 15 and continues through October 15. Watch for event announcements from the Division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Also, the Latino Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association of the Metropolitan D.C. Area (LDHH), and the Latinx Student Union (LSU) will hold several collaborative events throughout the month. See their calendar for more information.

Enjoy your weekend!