Gallaudet University ( ) is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
federally chartered
A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress issued federal charters from 1791 until 1992 under Title 36 of the United States Code. The first charte ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
for the education of the
deaf and hard of hearing
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 ...
. 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
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) 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 becam ...
, a notable figure in the advancement of deaf education.
Gallaudet University is officially bilingual, with
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 of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
(ASL) and written
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
used for instruction and by the college community. Although there are no specific ASL proficiency requirements for undergraduate admission, many graduate programs require varying degrees of knowledge of the language as a prerequisite. It is
classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
History
Early history (1856–1900)
![Amos kendall by mathew brady](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Amos_kendall_by_mathew_brady.jpg)
In 1856,
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
and former
United States postmaster general
The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency.
The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
Amos Kendall
Amos Kendall (August 16, 1789 – November 12, 1869) was an American lawyer, journalist and politician. He rose to prominence as editor-in-chief of the '' Argus of Western America'', an influential newspaper in Frankfort, the capital of the U.S. ...
became aware of several deaf and blind children in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, who were not receiving proper care. Kendall had the courts declare the children to be his wards and donated of his land to establish housing and a school for them. The school was established in 1857 with considerable efforts being made by several concerned citizens, including
Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet (February 5, 1837 – September 26, 1917), son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was the first president of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (then known as the Columbia Institution for the ...
, of Washington, D.C. Two houses were used at the school's inception, one purchased and one rented.
In 1857, the
34th Congress
The 34th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1855, ...
passed H.R. 806, which chartered the
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind and funded tuition costs for indigent deaf, dumb (
mute
Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak.
Mute or the Mute may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart
* ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...
), or blind children belonging to the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
.
Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet (February 5, 1837 – September 26, 1917), son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was the first president of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (then known as the Columbia Institution for the ...
was the first superintendent of the new school.
On November 1, 1858, the First Annual Report was submitted to the Secretary of the Interior.
![Edward Miner Gallaudet - Brady-Handy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Edward_Miner_Gallaudet_-_Brady-Handy.jpg)
During the school's second full year of operation (1858–1859), 14 deaf students and 7 blind students were in attendance. Superintendent Gallaudet, anticipating the future growth of the school, requested money for more buildings, lamenting the fact that the money was not issued in the year prior, due to federal budget problems. The Second Annual Report was submitted November 5, 1859.
During the third academic year (1859–1860), Kendall beseeched the federal government for funds to relocate the school to more spacious grounds. Gallaudet praised Kendall for donating money needed to construct a new brick building; both existing school buildings were already at capacity. There were 24 deaf students, necessitating a second teacher of the deaf. The teacher of the 6 blind students resigned due to health concerns.
By the start of the 1860–1861 academic year, the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
had been in progress for over six months. Gallaudet reported that the students were safe and free from fear. There were 35 deaf students and 6 blind students in attendance during the academic year. An art teacher was hired for the first time.
During 1861–1862, new monies provided for industrial education were used to rent a nearby shop in order to teach cabinet-making to the male students. Plans were underway to construct a new building using $9,000 that Congress appropriated to the school. There were 35 deaf students and 6 blind students. During vacation in August a regiment of
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
troops used the brick building for a hospital, and some of the students who stayed over the summer helped with tending to the sick soldiers. One soldier died. For the first time, Gallaudet proposed expanding the school to create a college for deaf students.
Even with new construction completed for the 1862–1863 school year, the school was still at capacity and more money was needed to purchase of adjoining land and then build still more buildings. Gallaudet asked for money to pipe in water from the
Anacostia River
The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. ...
, as the existing cistern and well were inadequate for the school's burgeoning needs.
College-level courses were offered for the first time during the 1863–64 academic year. In early 1864, the
38th Congress
The 38th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1863, ...
authorized the institution to grant and confirm college degrees and an enabling act was signed by
President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
on April 8. Today, April 8 is celebrated at Gallaudet as ''Charter Day'' in commemoration of the official beginning of Gallaudet University. The collegiate department became known as the National College for the Deaf and Dumb from 1864 to 1865 and then would be known as the National Deaf-Mute College until 1894.
In recognition of his hard work in helping the institution grow during its formative years, Gallaudet was also promoted from superintendent to president. An elaborate inauguration ceremony of Gallaudet as president was held in June with
Laurent Clerc
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc (; 26 December 1785 – 18 July 1869) was a French teacher called "The Apostle of the Deaf in America" and was regarded as the most renowned deaf person in American Deaf History. He was taught by Abbé Sicard and dea ...
in attendance. of land was purchased with money supplied by the government. He continued to push for funds for expansion and new buildings.
The enrollment numbers increased rapidly during the 1864–1865 academic year. That same year, in early 1865, the 38th Congress removed the provision that the institution was to educate the blind, and renamed it the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb. (This would be the corporate name for the entire institution, including the collegiate division, until 1911, when the legal name was changed to the Columbia Institution for the Deaf.
) Gallaudet asked the government for money to accomplish several projects, including the construction of an
ice house and a
gas house, sewer lines, and more. Major construction from earlier projects continued on campus. Following Gallaudet's proposal a year earlier to discontinue services for the small number of blind students the institution had at the time, explaining that the blind students would be better served at a specialized facility, the blind students were henceforth transferred to the
school for the blind
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
.
During the 1865–1866 academic year, Gallaudet responded to criticism from supporters of the
oral method in Massachusetts, saying that oral instruction is usually of little value to congenitally deaf children. Gallaudet proposed that a representative of the school be sent to Europe to study the methods employed there, in order to determine which types of instructional methods might be added to those methods already being used successfully at the Columbia Institution and other American schools. Combined enrollment of all levels of instruction, including the collegiate level, exceeded 100 for the first time during this year. There were 25 students enrolled in the college, including students from 14 states. Edward Allen Fay joined the faculty as a professor of history, having learned to sign as a child.
In the 1866–1867 academic year, the building for the primary school was extended and sickness was thereby reduced. A mathematics professor was hired for the first time. More money was needed to accommodate additional students expected to swell the ranks of the school.
![D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/D.C._Washington-Gallaudet_College-1897-Exterior_LCCN96506844.jpg)
Gallaudet gave a lengthy account of his travels to Europe in 1867 and was very critical of the extent to which speech is taught to deaf children in European schools for the deaf. Nevertheless, he recommended that a limited amount of speech training be afforded to deaf students in America to those who show they can benefit. His travels took him to:
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
;
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England;
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England;
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, England;
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
;
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
;
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland;
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
;
Nancy,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort
Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort (; oc, Sent Ipolit) is a commune in the Gard department, Occitania, southern France. The town has a silk museum and barracks.
Population
In literature
A book titled 'Divided Loyalties' described life in the commune and ...
, France;
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
; Leipsic, Saxony (
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
); Lubec (
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
, Germany); Frankfort On-the-Main (
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, Germany);
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
;
Zurich, Switzerland;
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
;
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France; Weissenfels, Prussia (
Weißenfels
Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle.
His ...
, Germany); Prague, Bohemia; (
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
); Berlin, Prussia (
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, Germany);
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
;
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, Italy;
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, Italy; Dresden, Saxony (
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
, Germany);
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England;
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland;
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, France;
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
s, France; Munich, Bavaria (
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Germany);
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
, Belgium;
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Russia
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; Åbo, Finland (
Turku
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,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
);
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
; and
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
.
The biggest educational conference in the then-history of deaf education was held during the month of May 1868 in Washington, D.C., largely made up of principals of schools for the deaf. Fourteen of the twenty-two schools for the deaf were represented. The chief topic of discussion was the recommendations put forth by Edward Gallaudet regarding adding articulation lessons to schools' curricula.
In 1868–1869, the first students completed a full course of college studies, all three men graduating with bachelor's degrees in June.
The founder of the school, Amos Kendall, died in November 1869. Gallaudet delivered a eulogy at the board meeting in January 1870. The main central building, now called Chapel Hall, was partially completed, with rooms in the basement and on the first floor first being used. Plans were being made to purchase Amos Kendall's estate, which adjoined the grounds of the school. Gallaudet cautioned Congress that Kendall's heirs had plans to subdivide the property if it was not sold to the Columbia Institution, and hence the land would never again become available for purchase as a whole.
In the 1871–1872 academic year, the diplomas of the graduates that summer were signed by President
U.S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, beginning a tradition of all Gallaudet graduates having their diplomas signed by the then-serving US president.
In 1881, Laura Sheridan, a hearing woman, inquired about the school accepting women. She was told that deaf women could not enter the institution at the time. In 1887 Gallaudet agreed to allow women to matriculate for the 1887-1888 and 1888–1889 academic years with the understanding that it would be considered an experiment. Temporary living arrangements were made for the 11 students who initially entered. Five female students remained when the school announced in 1889 that the college would be permanently coeducational, with two graduating. One of the students was
Agatha Tiegel in the class of 1893, who later married the well-known deaf architect
Olof Hanson.
In 1894, the collegiate division was officially renamed Gallaudet College from the National Deaf-Mute College in honor of
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) 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 becam ...
, President Gallaudet's father.
File:NORTH ELEVATION - Gallaudet College, Chapel Hall, Seventh and Florida Avenue Northeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,428A-4.tif, Exterior view of the Chapel
File:CHAPEL, VIEW TOWARD CHOIR - Gallaudet College, Chapel Hall, Seventh and Florida Avenue Northeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,428A-5.tif, Inside the chapel, view toward the Choir
File:CHAPEL, VIEW TOWARD PULPIT - Gallaudet College, Chapel Hall, Seventh and Florida Avenue Northeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,428A-6.tif, Inside the chapel, view toward the Pulpit
File:SOUTH (MAIN) ELEVATION, VIEW TAKEN FROM PARK ACROSS ROAD - Gallaudet College, Chapel Hall, Seventh and Florida Avenue Northeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,428A-3.tif, Chapel Hall
File:GENERAL VIEW - Gallaudet College, Seventh and Florida Avenue Northeast, Washington, District of Columbia, DC HABS DC,WASH,428-1.tif, Campus view looking south toward Faculty Row
20th century
In 1911, Congress amended the charter of the institution, changing the corporate name to Columbia Institution for the Deaf. It would remain the legal name for the institution until 1954, when Congress amended the charter to rename it Gallaudet College, which had been the official name of the collegiate department since 1894.
During his 17 years as Dean of the college in the 1950s and 1960s, George Ernst Detmold was a significant figure in helping the college achieve accreditation. He also led the college in developing new departments, especially drama. He directed Gallaudet theater productions, which eventually led to starting the
National Theatre of the Deaf
The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is a Connecticut-based theatre company founded in 1967, and is the oldest theatre company in the United States with a continuous history of domestic and international touring, as well as producing original wor ...
.
In 1965, professors at Gallaudet compiled the first-ever dictionary of ASL signs.
In 1986, Congress again amended the charter of the institution, renaming it Gallaudet University.
[, "EDUCATION OF THE DEAF"]
Deaf President Now (1988)
Student strikes at Gallaudet University starting March 6, 1988, revolutionized the perception and education of
Deaf culture. Deaf students were outraged at the selection of another hearing president,
Elisabeth Zinser
Elisabeth Ann Zinser (born February 20, 1940) 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 ...
; the university had never selected a deaf person for this position. Alumni, faculty, staff, and students demanded that the next president of the university be deaf. After a week of protest and activism, Zinser resigned and was replaced by
I. King Jordan
Irving King Jordan (born June 16, 1943) is an American educator who became the first hearing loss, deaf president of Gallaudet University in 1988 after the ''Deaf President Now'' protest. Gallaudet is the world's only university with all program ...
. This movement became known as ''Deaf President Now'' (DPN).
Unity for Gallaudet Movement (2006)
Jordan announced his retirement in September 2005. On May 1, 2006, the university's board of trustees announced that
Jane Fernandes
Jane Fernandes (born ''Jane Frances Kelleher''; August 21, 1956, in Worcester, Massachusetts) is a Deaf American educator and social justice advocate. As of August 2021, Fernandes is the President of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
In ...
, the university's then-current
provost, would be the university's next president. This was met with protests from the student body – in person, on campus, and in internet blogs and forums.
Initially, students cited the lack of racial diversity among finalists, Fernandes's lack of warmth, and her lack of fluency in
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 of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
.
Jordan publicly accused some critics of rejecting Fernandes because "she is not deaf enough." He described the protest as "
identity politics
Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...
", saying, "We are squabbling about what it means to be deaf."
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported that Fernandes "would like to see the institution become more inclusive of people who might not have grown up using sign language," stating that Gallaudet must embrace "all kinds of deaf people." Those who opposed her said that they feared a "weakening of American Sign Language at an institution that should be its standard-bearer." Protesters said Fernandes distorted their arguments and that the protest centered on her inability to lead, an unfair selection process and longstanding problems at the school.
In the spring 2006 protest, students blocked entrances to the Gallaudet campus, held rallies, and set up tents near the university's main entrance. Fernandes, appointed to serve as president-designate until Jordan retired, said that she would not step down. On May 8, the faculty gave a vote of no confidence for Fernandes.
When the fall 2006 academic year resumed, some students, faculty, staff, and alumni continued their protest, calling for Fernandes to step down and for the presidential search to be done again. On October 11, a group of protesting students shut down the campus. On October 16 at a regularly scheduled meeting, faculty members voted 138 to 24 to block Fernandes from becoming president of Gallaudet University.
Fernandes said, "I really don't understand so I have to believe it's not about me. ... I believe it's about evolution and change and growth in the deaf community."
On October 29, the university withdrew the appointment of Fernandes. In an opinion piece in ''The Washington Post'', Jordan defended Fernandes's remarks and denounced the board's decision and the actions of the protesters, saying, "I am convinced that the board made a serious error in acceding to the demands of the protesters by terminating Fernandes's presidency before it began."
[Gallaudet Chooses Interim President](_blank)
, ''Washington Post'', December 11, 2006
On December 10, 2006, the Board of Trustees announced that
Robert Davila
Dr. Robert Davila (born July 19, 1932) served as the ninth president of Gallaudet University,[Pre ...]
would serve as interim president for a period of up to two years.
He was formally installed on May 9, 2007, during a ceremony that included a speech by D.C. Congressional Delegate
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Earl ...
, who spoke positively of the 2006 protest. He stepped down on December 31, 2009.
On June 29, 2007, in the aftermath of the controversy over the university's presidency, Gallaudet was temporarily placed on probation by its
accreditation
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
organization, the Commission on Higher Education of the
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...
. It was also reported that in 2006, the
Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
had found that "Gallaudet failed to meet its goals or showed declining performance in key areas, including the number of students who stay in school, graduate and either pursue graduate degrees or find jobs upon graduation."
[On Probation](_blank)
, Washington Post, July 14, 2007. In January 2007, former president Jordan wrote an editorial on the topic that appeared in the Washington Post.
The Middle States Commission later reaffirmed Gallaudet's accreditation on June 27, 2008.
On October 18, 2009, the Board of Trustees announced that Gallaudet's tenth president would be
T. Alan Hurwitz. He began his tenure on January 1, 2010, and served until he retired on December 31, 2015, succeeded by
Roberta Cordano
Roberta "Bobbi" Cordano (born November 29, 1963) is the 11th president of Gallaudet University. Cordano is the first deaf woman to become president of Gallaudet University, the first deaf woman to become president of a U.S. university, and the ...
, the eleventh president.
Congressional charter
The university acknowledges that it "is a congressionally created corporation that serves governmental objectives."
The university and the
US Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
explain that Gallaudet has been structured by the Federal Government to take the form of a "federally chartered, private, non-profit educational institution." The federal government plays various roles within the institution:
* Congress incorporated the Columbia Institution in 1857, significantly amended its charter in 1954, and authorized permanent congressional appropriations. In 1986, Congress passed the Education of the Deaf Act and amended it in 1992. These Congressional acts are part of "the supreme law of Gallaudet University."
* Gallaudet must obtain authorization from the secretary of the US Department of Education in order to sell or transfer title of any of its real property.
* The diplomas of all Gallaudet graduates are signed by the current U.S. president, which dates from President
U.S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
signing students' diplomas in 1869.
* Three members of Congress are appointed to the university's board of trustees as "Public Members."
* Gallaudet must provide annual reports to the secretary of education.
* "Gallaudet receives the bulk of its income in the form of an annual appropriation from Congress, and the Department of Education oversees the University's appropriation for the Federal government."
* Gallaudet University (and the
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) is the first and largest technological college in the world for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. As one of nine colleges within the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester ...
) are authorized to make purchases through the
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...
.
Gallaudet's Fifty-Fifth Annual Report contains an appendix that includes the text of 99 Federal Acts related to Gallaudet/Columbia which were enacted between 1857 and 1912.
Presidential visits
There have been 15 occasions to date in Gallaudet's history when a US president has visited either the campus or attended an official function off campus. President Johnson's second visit, in 1966, was unannounced and impromptu. President Taft had promised to attend President Percival Hall's installation on May 10, 1911, and give an address, but cancelled at the last minute before the ceremony. President Kennedy had planned to attend the centennial celebration at Gallaudet in 1964, but was
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
.
* President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, 1870 and 1871.
* President
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...
, 1877, 1878, 1879, and 1880.
* President
James A. Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
, 1881.
* President
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...
, 1882.
* President
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
, 1885.
* President
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
, 1889 (two visits, May and June).
* President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, 1906.
* President
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
, 1964 and 1966.
* President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, 1994.
Academics
Several programs and majors are offered at Gallaudet University. The five most popular majors are business, visual and performing arts, communication studies, physical education, and psychology. Gallaudet University offers thirty graduate programs in ten Departments as well as on-line and on-campus continuing education courses.
Over 90 percent of the classes offered at Gallaudet University contain fewer than 20 students.
The freshman retention rate at the university is 69–77 percent, the four-year graduation rate is 17–27 percent, and the six-year graduation rate is 43–53 percent (for freshmen entering 2008–2012).
Classes are conducted in ASL with no spoken English, and curriculum materials are designed in both ASL and English. The classrooms are visually-oriented, and are organized around the philosophy of
DeafSpace
DeafSpace is an approach to architecture that is primarily informed by the unique ways in which deaf people live and inhabit space. The design concept can be applied to public and domestic spaces. Buildings, classrooms, hallways, furniture, and ...
, such as all the desks arranged in a circle so that all students and teachers can see one another for discussions. If a professor needs to get the attention of the classroom, they will flash a light signal.
Campus
Historic designations
The Gallaudet campus, comprising the
Gallaudet College Historic District, has been designated a historic place on several registries and surveys:
* Gallaudet College Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
* District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites (listings added in 1964 and 1973).
* National Historic Landmarks designation (added 1965).
* Historic American Buildings Survey (added 1933).
Pre-college education
The campus is shared with
Kendall Demonstration Elementary School
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 Seco ...
, a day school serving deaf and hard of hearing students from birth through grade 8, and the
Model Secondary School for the Deaf
The Model Secondary School (MSSD) is a residential four-year high school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students located on the Gallaudet University campus in Washington, D.C.
History
Prior to 1970, Kendall School for the Deaf served students f ...
, a day and residential high school for deaf and hard of hearing students.
Gallaudet also operates a child development center with admissions priority for children of faculty, staff, and students. Separate from the KDES Early Childhood Program, the child development center is inclusive of, but not exclusively for, deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
Redevelopment of campus (2015–2024)
In October 2014, the Gallaudet University board of trustees announced a 10-year, $450 million development of its campus along 6th Street NE. The development, which includes both campus property as well as college-owned residential and retail property across the street, will be overseen by
JBG Smith
JBG SMITH Properties is a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Maryland.
As of December 31, 2020, the company owned 62 properties and has 2 additional properties under construction, all of which are in the Washington me ...
.
Athletics
Gallaudet athletic teams are the Bison. The university is a member of the
Division III
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
level of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA), primarily competing as a core member of the
United East Conference
The United East Conference (UEC), formerly known as the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of th ...
(formerly known as the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) until after the 2020–21 academic year) for most its sports since the 2010–11 academic year;
in the
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
The Eastern Collegiate Football Conference is a football-only intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Founded in 2009, it combines six schools spread across the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York ...
for football; and as Independents for their men's and women's swimming & diving and track & field teams. The Bison previously competed in the
Capital Athletic Conference
The Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C; officially stylized as Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference), formerly named Capital Athletic Conference (CAC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member i ...
from 1989–90 to 2009–10.
Their colors are
buff
Buff or BUFF may refer to:
People
* Buff (surname), a list of people
* Buff (nickname), a list of people
* Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955)
* Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional ...
and
blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
, which were chosen after Union soldiers' uniforms in the Civil War.
Gallaudet competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, soccer, swimming and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball. Club sports include cheerleading for both men and women.
Facilities
The football and soccer teams play at
Hotchkiss Field with the track and field teams using
Berg Track
Gallaudet University ( ) is a private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the Hearing loss, deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a gramma ...
located within Hotchkiss Field for track meets. Basketball and volleyball use the
GU Field House for home games.
Hoy Field is home to the baseball team and the
GU Softball Complex hosts the softball team.
Women's basketball
Gallaudet women's basketball made its biggest splash in 1999, with a group of players from the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf among those leading the way.
Ronda Jo Miller
Ronda Jo Miller (born 21 April 1978) is a retired American professional deaf female basketball and volleyball player. She is one of the few deaf women basketball players to have tried out for WNBA. Miller is the first deaf woman to make an attem ...
, most certainly the greatest women's basketball player in the program's history, was a three-time Division III All-America selection, as well as one of the top women's volleyball players.
Under the leadership of coach Kitty Baldridge, Miller, Touria Ouahid, Ronda Johnson and Jenny Cooper led the Bison to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. Receiving one of the lowest seeds as an at-large team into the Division III NCAA Tournament field, which numbered just 48 teams, the Bison traveled to St. Mary's College (Md.), the school which had just defeated them in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament, and came away with an 80–73 win. In the second round, Gallaudet faced a team from The College of New Jersey which had received a first-round bye and was highly favored, but Miller poured in 38 points, using a variety of impressive shots. The Bison advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the 1999 tournament before falling to host school Salem State College (Mass.).
Miller finished with 2,656 points scored, 1,545 rebounds and 373 blocked shots, and was called "one of the best basketball players in Division III history" by the NCAA.
Kevin Cook coached the team briefly to success. The team had not won a conference game in five years and even lost a game by 75 points in Cook's first year in charge.
Cook's persistence on defense and discipline turned the program around. Gallaudet began the 2010–11 season on a 20-game winning streak and finished the season 24–4 (20–2 in conference play). Cook was named North Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, and senior Easter Faafiti was voted NEAC Player of the Year. The 2010–11 season ended in the first round of the Division III NCAA Championships with a loss to Juniata.
After a victory over Penn State-Berks in the 2010–11 season, Penn State guard Corin Bishop "said that she views the Gallaudet team as a great basketball team, not a team of deaf players." Hayes of Gallaudet later said, "I feel like there are people who stereotype us as deaf players, I'm just like everyone else who plays basketball".
[ In an interview with Lydia Lum of ''Diverse'', he said, "Because of us, there's a growing awareness that there are differences between deaf people, but we're all the same."]
Football
The football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
huddle
In sport, a huddle is the action of a team gathering together, usually in a tight circle, to strategize, motivate or celebrate. It is a popular strategy for keeping opponents insulated from sensitive information, and acts as a form of insulation ...
originated at Gallaudet when the team noticed that their opponents were trying to see and read their signs in order to try to guess their plays.
After an undefeated season in 2005, which was achieved after 122 years, head coach Ed Hottle began his campaign to return Gallaudet to the NCAA ranks. With support from the Gallaudet administration, the Bison played their last season of club football in 2006 and played a full NCAA slate of eight games in 2007.
After the 2009 football season, Coach Hottle left to become the first head coach of the first football team at Stevenson University
Stevenson University is a private university in Baltimore County, Maryland with two campuses, one in Stevenson and one in Owings Mills. The university enrolls approximately 3,615 undergraduate and graduate students. Formerly known as Villa Julie ...
. He announced his decision in a heart-felt meeting with the football team. Offensive Coordinator Chuck Goldstein was tapped to be the interim head coach of the football team. On December 17, 2009, the interim tag was removed and he is now the permanent head coach of the team.
Gallaudet University's football team has a longstanding rivalry with Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
, another school in the Washington, D.C., area. On September 7, 2012, Gallaudet University defeated Catholic University of America for the first time in the 106-year history of the rivalry between the two D.C. schools.
In the fall of 2013, Gallaudet's football program began a remarkable run for the Division III playoffs and garnering a considerable amount of publicity, winning the regular season with a 9–1 record, before falling to Hobart College in the first round of the playoffs and ending the season with a 9–2 (.818) overall record.
Volleyball
In 2006, the Gallaudet women's volleyball team ended their season 30–10 after a history-making run to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Division III tournament. Tamijo Foronda, a senior outside hitter, was named to the AVCA All-American Team.
Noted athletes
Notable athletes that have attended the university include:
* Dawn Birley won several national Canadian Taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
championships.
Greek life
The campus Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
community is relatively small with only 4 fraternities
A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
and 3 sororities
Fraternities and sororities are Club (organization), social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an Undergraduate education, undergraduate student, but conti ...
. The four fraternities are Kappa Gamma, Alpha Sigma Pi, Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...
, and Delta Sigma Phi
Delta Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Delta Sig or D Sig, is a fraternities and sororities, fraternity established in 1899 at City College of New York, The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded on the basis o ...
. The three sororities are Delta Epsilon, Phi Kappa Zeta, and Delta Zeta
Delta Zeta (, also known as DZ) is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Delta Zeta has 170 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada, and over 200 alumnae chapters in Cana ...
.
Suspension of Kappa Gamma
After photos emerged in June 2020 of members wearing robes with pointed hoods which resembled Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
garb, Gallaudet University suspended the Kappa Gamma fraternity as part of the university's "work of dismantling racism". A 1989 photograph of Kappa Gamma members in appearing to give the Nazi salute
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...
had also recently resurfaced, though the school said the photograph did not contribute to the suspension.
This was the fourth time the chapter had been suspended. The president of the school said " appa Gammahave become the face of systemic racism in our community, with photographs of the salute and use of robes being shared on social media. This behavior is unacceptable.... We are in the process of reviewing other organizations and the status of their histories and their efforts to determine if further steps will need to be taken."
National Deaf Life Museum
Gallaudet is home to the National Deaf Life Museum, established in 2007 as the Gallaudet University Museum. The museum focuses on the culture and history of deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States, with special attention given to Gallaudet history and alumni. The museum is located in Chapel Hall, while museum staff are housed in the campus Gate House. Exhibits created by the museum include highlighting notable alumni such as Olof Hanson, Robert Panara, and Andrew Jackson Foster; "Deaf HERstory," focusing on the lives and activism of deaf women; and "Deaf Difference + Space Survival," highlighting the story of the "Gallaudet Eleven" who contributed to NASA's studies of motion sickness and weightlessness during the Space Race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...
.
Research
The Gallaudet Office of Research Support and International Affairs (RSIA) (formerly Gallaudet Research Institute or GRI) is internationally recognized for its leadership in deafness-related research. RSIA researchers gather and analyze data concerning the social, academic, and perceptual characteristics of deaf and hard of hearing populations, primarily to provide information needed by educators in the field. Staff are skilled in various research methodologies including surveys, test norming and assessment, ethnographic studies, clinical studies, and information management. In 2016, RSIA began hosting the Gallaudet Research Expo, to give students, faculty, and staff "the opportunity to share ideas and showcase scholarly pursuits and achievements." Presentations represent "education, linguistics, STM, neuroscience, interpretation and translation, computer science, audiology, psychology, deaf studies, and other fields that reflect Gallaudet's research priorities." The third Gallaudet RExpo will be held in October 2018.
Gallaudet University Press
Gallaudet University Press (GUPress) is a publisher that focuses on issues relating to deafness and sign language. It is a part of Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., and was founded in 1980 by the university's Board of Trustees. The press is ...
publishes two academic journals, ''American Annals of the Deaf
The ''American Annals of the Deaf'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly with one annual reference issue. The journal is published by Gallaudet University Press in Washington, D.C. It was first established in 1847 as the ''Ame ...
'' (est. 1847) and ''Sign Language Studies
''Sign Language Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering basic and applied research relating to sign languages used throughout the world. It was established in 1972 with William Stokoe of Gallaudet University as founding edi ...
'' (est. 1972). The ''Annals'' are "the oldest and most widely read English-language journal dealing with deafness and the education of deaf persons."
The Department of Psychology's chapter of Psi Chi
Psi Chi () is a college student honor society in psychology with international outreach founded in 1929 at the University of Kansas in the United States.
Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States, with more than 1,150 cha ...
publishes the journal ''Gallaudet Chronicles of Psychology''. The journal is managed and edited by graduate student members of the chapter. The ''Chronicles'' are designed to "mimic professional, peer-reviewed journals" and provides graduate students with an opportunity disseminate their original psychology research. In 2018, the chapter will be publishing the fifth volume of the ''Chronicles''.
In the fall of 2010, the university's Department of Deaf Studies launched the ''Deaf Studies Digital Journal'' (DSDJ), the first peer-reviewed academic and creative arts journal in American Sign Language and English. The DSDJ itself is published in entirely video-based content and is available online. To date, only four issues of DSDJ have been released, the most recent being published in 2014.
People
Notable alumni
* Ben Bahan
Benjamin James Bahan is a professor of ASL and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University and a member of the deaf community. He is an influential figure in American Sign Language literature as a storyteller and writer of deaf culture. He is known for ...
, actor, professor and researcher
* Linda Bove
Linda Bove Waterstreet (born November 30, 1945) is an American actress who performed as (a fictionalized version of) herself in the PBS children's series ''Sesame Street'' from 1971 to 2002. Bove was the first deaf actress to be part of the prog ...
, actress
* Bernard Bragg, actor
* James Caverly, actor
* John Lee Clark, writer and activist
* Carl Croneberg, linguist and college professor
* Robert R. Davila
Dr. Robert Davila (born July 19, 1932) served as the ninth president of Gallaudet University,[Pr ...]
, 9th President of Gallaudet
* Nyle DiMarco
Nyle DiMarco (born May 8, 1989) is an American model, actor, and deaf activist. In 2015, DiMarco was the winner of The CW's reality television series ''America's Next Top Model'' in season 22, becoming the second male winner and the first deaf wi ...
, American actor, model and activist
* Daniel Durant
Daniel N. Durant (born December 24, 1989) is an American stage and screen actor. His breakthrough starring role was as Moritz Stiefel in the 2015 Broadway revival of '' Spring Awakening''. Durant starred in the Academy Award-winning film ''CODA ...
, actor
* Andrew Foster, missionary, first self-identified Black Deaf person to earn a bachelor's degree at Gallaudet
* Phyllis Frelich
Phyllis Annetta Frelich (February 29, 1944 – April 10, 2014) was a Tony Award-winning deaf American actress. She was the first deaf actor or actress to win a Tony Award.
Early life
Frelich was born to deaf parents Esther (née Dockter) and Ph ...
, actress
* Gertrude Scott Galloway, educator
* Jack R. Gannon, educator, coach, and author
* Tyrone Giordano, actor
* Alice Lougee Hagemeyer
Alice Lougee Hagemeyer (born 1934) is a deaf American librarian who worked to make libraries more accessible for deaf people. She graduated from Gallaudet University in 1957. From 1957 to 1991 she worked for the District of Columbia Public Librar ...
, librarian
* Olof Hanson, American architect
* Russell Harvard
Russell Wayne Harvard (born April 16, 1981) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson's ''There Will Be Blood'' (2007), playing opposite Daniel Day-Lewis as his adopted son, H.W. Plainview. In the 2010 biopic '' ...
, actor
* Bruce Hlibok, playwright, author, actor
* I. King Jordan Jr., 8th President of Gallaudet
* Barbara Kannapell
Barbara may refer to:
People
* Barbara (given name)
* Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter
* Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer
* Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...
, activist, consultant, sociolinguist
* Troy Kotsur
Troy Michael Kotsur (; born July 24, 1968) is an American actor in theater, film, and television.
His supporting role in the film ''CODA'' (2021) earned him a number of accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Scr ...
, actor
* Ella Mae Lentz
Ella Mae Lentz (born May 5, 1954) is a Deaf American author, poet, teacher, and advocate.
Biography
Lentz was born in Berkeley, California, to two deaf parents. Her brother was also deaf.
Lentz graduated from the California School for the Dea ...
, poet
* Florence Lewis May
Florence Lewis May (December 9, 1899 - September 6, 1988) was an American art historian and curator. May was the Curator of Textiles Emeritus at the Hispanic Society of America for the entire length of her career.
Career
Born in Fairfield to Edw ...
, art historian
* Dorothy Miles
Dorothy "Dot" Miles (19 August 1931 – 30 January 1993, née Squire) was a Welsh poet and activist in the deaf community. Throughout her life, she composed her poems in English, British Sign Language, and American Sign Language. Her work laid ...
, British poet and activist
* Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen
Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen is a South African politician, and the country's first Deaf female Member of Parliament. She attended Gallaudet University and was elected the vice-president of the World Federation of the Deaf in 2011.
References
{{ ...
, South African politician
* Jane Norman, director and educator
* Robert Panara
Robert F. Panara (8 July 1920 - 20 July 2014) was a poet, a professor and a co-founder of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) and the National Theater of the Deaf. Panara is considered to be a pioneer in deaf culture studies in ...
, professor of deaf culture studies
* Louise Stern, writer and artist
* Shoshannah Stern
Shoshannah Stern (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress and writer.
Life and career
She was born in Walnut Creek, California, into an observant Jewish and fourth-generation Deaf family, the daughter of Ron Stern and Hedy Marilyn Stern (née U ...
, actress
* 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 literatur ...
, linguist
* George Veditz
George William Veditz (August 13, 1861 – March 12, 1937) was a former president of National Association of the Deaf of the United States and one of the first people to film American Sign Language.
Life
Early life
Veditz was born to Ger ...
, teacher, American Sign Language filmmaker, preserver of American Sign Language
Notable faculty
List of presidents of Gallaudet University
* Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet (February 5, 1837 – September 26, 1917), son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was the first president of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (then known as the Columbia Institution for the ...
(1864–1910)
* Percival Hall
Percival Hall (September 16, 1872 – November 7, 1953)
was the second president of Leonard M. Elstad
Leonard M. Elstad (February 8, 1899 – June 27, 1990) was the third President of Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University ( ) is a private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washing ...
(1945–1969)
* Edward C. Merrill Jr. (1969–1983)
* W. Lloyd Johns (October 1983 – January 1984)
* Jerry C. Lee (1984–1988)
* Elisabeth A. Zinser (March 1988)
* I. King Jordan Jr. (1988–2006)
* Robert Davila
Dr. Robert Davila (born July 19, 1932) served as the ninth president of Gallaudet University,[Pre ...]
(2006–2009)
* T. Alan Hurwitz (2010–2015)
* Roberta Cordano
Roberta "Bobbi" Cordano (born November 29, 1963) is the 11th president of Gallaudet University. Cordano is the first deaf woman to become president of Gallaudet University, the first deaf woman to become president of a U.S. university, and the ...
(2016–present)
See also
* American School for the Deaf
The American School for the Deaf (ASD), originally ''The American Asylum, At Hartford, For The Education And Instruction Of The Deaf'', is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States, and the first school for children with disa ...
* 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 of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
* Bilingual-bicultural education
* National Association of the Deaf (United States)
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is an organization for the promotion of the rights of deaf people in the United States. NAD was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1880 as a non-profit organization run by Deaf people to advocate for deaf ri ...
(NAD)
* National Technical Institute for the Deaf
The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) is the first and largest technological college in the world for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. As one of nine colleges within the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester ...
(NTID)
* Willy Conley
Willy Conley (born August 5, 1958, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA) is an American deaf photographer, playwright, actor and writer.
Education
In 1981, Conley received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Photographic Communications at the Rochester I ...
* Andrew Foster (educator)
Andrew Jackson Foster (1925–1987) was an American pioneer of deaf education in several countries in Africa. In 1969, he became the first Deaf African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University, the American university for the ...
* Francis Maginn
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.
Early life and education
...
* William Stokoe
William C. Stokoe Jr. ( ; July 21, 1919 – April 4, 2000) was an American linguist and a long-time professor at Gallaudet University. His research on American Sign Language (ASL) revolutionized the understanding of ASL in the United States and s ...
References
External links
*
Official athletics website
{{authority control
Private universities and colleges in Washington, D.C.
Schools for the deaf in the United States
Schools of deaf education in the United States
Educational institutions established in 1864
Deaf universities and colleges in the United States
Deaf studies
Deaf culture in the United States
1864 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Bilingual schools
Trinidad (Washington, D.C.)