Gallaudet University is a private federally chartered research 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 for the advanced education of the deaf and hard of hearing in the world and remains the only higher education institution in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. Hearing students are admitted to the graduate school and a small number are also admitted as undergraduates each year. The university was named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet,a notable figure in the advancement of deaf education.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell,he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America,and he became its first principal. When opened on April 15,1817,it was called the "Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons," but it is now known as the American School for the Deaf.
Edward Miner Gallaudet,was the first president of Gallaudet University in Washington,D.C. from 1864 to 1910.
Irving King Jordan is an American educator who became the first deaf president of Gallaudet University in 1988 after the Deaf President Now protest. Gallaudet is the world's only university with all programs and services designed specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
Deaf President Now (DPN) was a student protest in March 1988 at Gallaudet University,Washington,D.C. The protest began on March 6,1988,when the Board of Trustees announced its decision to appoint a hearing candidate,Elizabeth Zinser,over the other Deaf candidates,Irving King Jordan and Harvey Corson,as its seventh president.
Andrew Jackson Foster (1925–1987) was an American pioneer of deaf education in several countries in Africa. In 1954,he became the first Deaf African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University,the American university for the Deaf,and the first to earn a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University. He earned a second master's degree from Seattle Pacific Christian College,also in education. He founded Christian Mission for the Deaf African in 1956 and set out for Accra,Ghana,where he established the first school for the deaf in West Africa.
Jane Fernandes is a Deaf American educator and social justice advocate. As of August 2021,Fernandes is the President of Antioch College in Yellow Springs,Ohio.
Dr. Robert Davila served as the ninth president of Gallaudet University,the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. His appointment came after the wake of the Unity for Gallaudet Movement protests of 2006,when many students,staff,and alumni objected to the initial choice of Jane Fernandes as the intended next president. It was originally intended that he serve only 18–24 months as an interim president,but the Board dropped the interim designation and then extended his contract to 36 months.
Francis Maginn (1861–1918) was a Church of Ireland missionary who worked to improve living standards for the deaf community by promoting sign language and was one of the co-founders of the British Deaf Association.
Percival Hall was the second president of Gallaudet University from 1910 until 1945. He was a strong advocate of the use of sign language in the education of the deaf,and also an advocate for deaf rights to vote,work,participate in sports,marry,and drive automobiles.
W. Lloyd Johns was the fifth president of Gallaudet University from October 1,1983 until January 18,1984.
Elisabeth Ann Zinser is a retired university president,most recently at Southern Oregon University (2001–06) in Ashland,Oregon. Previously she was the chancellor of the Lexington campus of the University of Kentucky (1995–2001),and the first female president of the University of Idaho,serving from 1989–95 in Moscow,Idaho.
Deaf studies are academic disciplines concerned with the study of the deaf social life of human groups and individuals. These constitute an interdisciplinary field that integrates contents,critiques,and methodologies from anthropology,cultural studies,economics,geography,history,political science,psychology,social studies,and sociology,among others. The field focuses on the language,culture,and lives of the deaf from the social instead of the medical perspective.
Lawrence R. Newman was a prominent deaf activist,educator and author who served two terms as President of the National Association of the Deaf from 1986 to 1990. He was named "California Teacher of the Year" in 1968. An early proponent of bilingual education for the Deaf,he was the author of two books:Sands of Time:NAD Presidents 1880-2003,and I Fill this Small Space:The Writings of a Deaf Activist. Newman was awarded on honorary doctor of letters degree by Gallaudet University in 1978 in recognition of his extensive advocacy efforts as an educator and writer.
Betty Gloria Miller,also known as Bettigee was an American artist who became known as the "Mother of De'VIA".
Beth S. Benedict is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Gallaudet University,advocate for the deaf,and a mentor for families with deaf children. Her research focuses on early intervention,early language acquisition,and family involvement. Benedict is also an advocate for the use of bilingualism in education of the deaf - incorporating the value of American Sign Language in deaf children. Benedict advocates for deaf-hearing partnerships,avoiding audism,the importance of bilingual education,deaf culture and the use of sign language while also working as a family mentor for families with deaf children. Recently,she was a keynote speaker for an International Deaf Studies conference and the featured speaker for the deaf education summit. Benedict takes what she researches about deafness and education and shares it broadly by way of talks and application - for example,she has helped the Georgia School for the Deaf work on developing bilingual education in their programs. In 2015 Benedict was the featured speaker at the Deaf education summit in Louisiana - a conference that brought together practitioners,educators,and parents to discuss local issues surrounding education of deaf children.
Paul B. Marion,Jr. is an American university administrator and academic. During his long career in university administration,he served as director of higher education for the State of Arkansas,chancellor of the State College System of West Virginia,and presidents of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities,Franklin College in Indiana and Tiffin University in Ohio.
Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) is a private day school serving deaf and hard of hearing students from birth through grade 8 on the campus of Gallaudet University in the Trinidad neighborhood of Washington,D.C. Alongside Model Secondary School for the Deaf,it is a federally funded,tuition-free demonstration school administered by the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University.
Mervin "Merv" Donald Garretson was an American educator,leader,and deaf community rights advocate. His works were primarily directed towards changing mainstream opinion about deaf culture and about the deaf community.
Roslyn "Roz" Goodstein Rosen is an American advocate for the Deaf community. Rosen was the president of the National Association of the Deaf from 1990 to 1993 and was a board member for the World Federation of the Deaf from 1995 to 2003. She served in multiple academic administrator roles throughout her career,including as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Gallaudet University,and was the director of the National Center on Deafness from 2006 to 2014.
