Hi5 - May 24, 2019

May 24, 2019

Hello, Gallaudet Community!

Welcome to the fifth issue of Hi5! Every week, we will share five newsworthy highlights from the desk of President Cordano. If you’re interested in keeping up to date, open this email and check out all the new buzzworthy content!

Commencement: A huge success!

We are basking in the glow following our 149th Commencement ceremony, held Friday, May 17. Gallaudet awarded a total of 367 undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as two honorary degrees. Our keynote speaker and student speakers were outstanding. Planning Commencement is a year-round job, and President Cordano wants to express her heartfelt thanks to the many people who had a role in the success of this annual celebration of our students’ successes.

COO/CFO search committee members sought!

The chairs of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) search committees seek employees to serve on their committees. They seek a diverse pool of people to screen candidates for these two important roles. Serving on a search committee is an opportunity to participate in high level decision-making, build relationships with other employees, and learn about search processes for critical positions on campus. For more information, please see the Daily Digest posting. The deadline to express interest is Friday, May 31.

Short-term Strategic Plan updates now available

The Office of the President has posted several updates on the Short-term Strategic Plan (STSP) for 2017-2020, covering the following areas:

1. Academic vitality and Carnegie reclassification update status

2. Cross-cultural conversations

3. Gallaudet Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute (GIEI)

4. Draft bilingual mission framework

For more information, please see the Daily Digest posting.

Recognizing our exemplary staff!

On Tuesday, May 21, the Gallaudet Staff Council presented its annual awards. Please join us in congratulating Kris Gould, ’87, Athletics; Vernon Crittenden, Transportation; Ruth Schilling, G-’87, Mental Health Center; and Michael Olson, ’79, Archives and Deaf Collections.

Research spotlight

VL2 held a very successful Knowledge Festival on May 14 at the Kellogg Conference Hotel. Hundreds of people attended, including members of our Board of Trustees, and learned more about the exciting, groundbreaking work taking place in each of the center’s hubs and laboratories, as well as the Ph.D. program in educational neuroscience.

Our faculty is also doing great things. Dr. Audrey Cooper, director of the master’s degree program in international development, received a highly competitive summer stipend from the National Endowment for the Humanities to conduct ethnographic research on Deaf community members’ preparedness for disasters in Vietnam. Dr. Gaurav Arora of the Department of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, along with collaborators at three other schools, published the results of a National Science Foundation-funded project to analyze genes in bacteria and viruses. Dr. Arora mentored several Gallaudet students using bioinformatics tools.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!