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Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University

Overview
Gallaudet University is a federally chartered, quasi-governmental university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 for the education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing, located in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...

 It was the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing in the world, and is still the world's only university 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, known as HUGS (Hearing UnderGraduate Students) are admitted as undergraduates each year.
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Encyclopedia
Gallaudet University is a federally chartered, quasi-governmental university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 for the education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing, located in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...

 It was the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing in the world, and is still the world's only university 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, known as HUGS (Hearing UnderGraduate Students) are admitted as undergraduates each year. The university was named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., was a renowned American pioneer in the education of the deaf. He helped found and was for many years the principal of the first institution for the education of the deaf in North America...

, a notable figure in the advancement of deaf education.

Gallaudet University is a bilingual community in which American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language is the dominant sign language of the Deaf community in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...

 (ASL) and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...

 exist side-by-side. While there are no specific ASL requirements for undergraduate admission, many graduate programs have sign language proficiency requirements.

History


  • In 1856, philanthropist
    Philanthropist
    A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

     and former United States Postmaster General
    United States Postmaster General
    The United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...

     Amos Kendall
    Amos Kendall
    Amos Kendall was an American politician who served as U.S. Postmaster General under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Many historians regard Kendall as the intellectual force behind Andrew Jackson's presidential administration, and an influential figure in the transformation of America from an...

     became aware of several deaf and blind children in Washington, DC 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.
  • In 1857, the 34th Congress
    34th United States Congress
    The Thirty-fourth 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 to March 4, 1857, during the last two years...

     passed HR 806, which chartered Kendall's school as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind and provided funding for the tuition of indigent deaf, dumb, or blind children belonging to the District.
  • In 1864, the 38th Congress
    38th United States Congress
    The Thirty-eighth 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 to March 4, 1865, during the last two years...

     authorized the Institution to grant and confirm college degrees.

  • In 1865, the 38th Congress removed the instruction that the Institution was to educate the blind, and renamed it the "Columbia Institution for the instruction of the Deaf and Dumb"
  • In 1954, Congress amended the charter of the Institution and changed the corporate name to "Gallaudet College" to match the name that had been the official name of the collegiate department since 1894.
  • In 1986, Congress again amended the charter of the Institution, and renamed it "Gallaudet University".

Deaf President Now (1988)


Student strikes at Gallaudet University starting March 6, 1988 revolutionized the perception and education of Deaf culture
Deaf culture
Deaf culture is a term applied to the social movement that holds deafness to be a difference in human experience rather than a disability. When used in the cultural sense, the word deaf is very often capitalized in writing, and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech.Those who consider themselves...

. Deaf students were outraged at the selection of another hearing president, Elisabeth Zinser, after a long line of university presidents who were not deaf. 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
I. King Jordan
Irving King Jordan became, in 1988, the first deaf president of Gallaudet University, the world's only university with all programs and services designed specifically for students who are deaf and hard of hearing...

. This movement became known as Deaf President Now
Deaf President Now
Deaf President Now was a student protest at Gallaudet University, the liberal arts university for the Deaf in Washington, DC, pushing for the selection of a Deaf university president. The university, established by an act of Congress in 1814 to serve the Deaf, had always been led by a hearing...

 (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
Jane Kelleher Fernandes is a deaf educator and is the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina Asheville as of July 1, 2008. Dr. Fernandes was the former President Designate of Gallaudet University...

, the University's current provost
Provost (education)
A provost is not only the senior academic administrator but at many institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....

, would be the University's next president. This was met with protests from the student body, both 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
American Sign Language is the dominant sign language of the Deaf community in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...

.

Jordan publicly accused some critics of rejecting Dr. Fernandes because "she is not deaf enough." He described the protest as "identity politics
Identity politics
Identity politics refers to political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of social minorities, or self-identified social interest groups. Not all members of any given group are necessarily involved in identity politics....

," saying, "We are squabbling about what it means to be deaf."

The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Washington, D.C. and is the city's oldest paper, founded in 1877. Being located in the nation's capital, it has a particular emphasis on national politics and international affairs...

 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 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 Dr. Fernandes.

When the fall 2006 academic year resumed, some students, faculty, staff, and alumni continued their protest, calling for Fernandes to step down and the 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 138-24 to block Dr. 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' 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."

On December 10, 2006, the Board of Trustees announced that Robert Davila
Robert R. Davila
Dr. Robert Davila is 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...

 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
Eleanor Holmes Norton is a Delegate to Congress representing the District of Columbia. In her position she is able to serve on and vote with committees, as well as speak from the House floor...

, who spoke positively of the 2006 protest. He is scheduled to step down on December 31, 2009. Four finalists have been announced to succeed Davila, all of whom are deaf:
  • Stephen F. Weiner, 54, Gallaudet Provost
  • Ronald J. Stern, 57, superintendnet and chief counse of the New Mexico School for the Deaf
  • Roslyn Rosen, 66, director of the National Center on Deafness at California State University at Northridge
  • T. Alan Hurwitz, 67, President of the National Technical Institute of the Deaf.


On October 18, 2009, the Board of Trustees announced that Gallaudet's tenth president will be Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz, who will begin his term on January 1, 2010.

Accreditation


On June 29, 2007, in the aftermath of the controversy over the university's presidency, Gallaudet was temporarily placed on probation by its accreditation organization, the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...

.

The Washington Post reported that the Middle States Commission (MSC) cited concerns about deficiencies in standards for leadership, academic rigor, student retention and integrity that must be resolved for the school to maintain accreditation. The newspaper noted that in 2006 the Office of Management and Budget had reported 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." According to the article, if the school should become unaccredited, students would become ineligible to receive federal loans and could be unable to transfer credits to other schools, while the school might lose its federal government funding of $108 million per year. In January 2007, former president Jordan wrote an editorial on the topic that appeared in the Washington Post.

The Middle States Commission reaffirmed Gallaudet's accreditation on June 27, 2008

Federal involvement


The university acknowledges that it "is a congressionally created corporation that serves governmental objectives."
The university and the Department of Education 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 authorizing 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.
  • 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'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.

Visits to Gallaudet by U.S. Presidents


Mentions of Gallaudet in speeches and messages of US Presidents


Designations of Gallaudet on Historic Registries and Surveys




"...well-preserved romantic landscape campus designed in 1866 by Olmsted, Vaux & Co. (on site of estate named Kendall Green); includes excellent examples of High Victorian Gothic collegiate architecture; monument to founder Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, pioneer educator of the deaf (Daniel Chester French, sculptor); includes approximately 10 buildings c. 1866-1885..." http://planning.dc.gov/planning/lib/planning/New_Inventory_Sep_2004.pdf

See also: Francis R. Kowsky's two books: "College Hall at Gallaudet College" and "Gallaudet College: A High Victorian Campus".

Kowsky, Francis R., "College Hall at Gallaudet College," Records of the Columbia Historical Society 50 (1980), 279-289

Kowsky, Francis R., "Gallaudet College: A High Victorian Campus," Records of the Columbia Historical Society 48 (1971-1972), 439-467

Athletics


Gallaudet is a member of NCAA Division III and the Capital Athletic Conference
Capital Athletic Conference
The Capital Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Member institutions are located in the eastern United States in the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Delaware, and in Washington, D.C..-Current members:The league...

. The Bison compete in baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...

, basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the American basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III.-Division I:There are 347 schools in 32...

, cross country running
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which runners compete to complete a course over open or rough terrain. The courses used at these events may include grass, mud, woodlands, and water...

, football
College football
College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...

, indoor and outdoor track and field, soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe soccer that is played by teams operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

, softball
Softball
Softball is a team sport popular especially in the United States. It is a direct descendant of baseball. Some key differences between softball and baseball are that softballs are larger than baseballs, and pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand. Softball was invented by George Hancock...

, swimming
Swimming (sport)
The aquatic sport of swimming involves competition amongst participants to be the fastest over a given distance under self propulsion.The different events include 25, 50, 100, 200, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, the 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 500, 800, 1000, 1500, and 1650 free and the 100,...

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....

, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules...

, and wrestling
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling is the style of amateur wrestling practiced at the college and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling is sometimes known as folkstyle wrestling because by and large, it is the style that emerged out of the folk wrestling styles practiced in the early...

. Their colors are buff and blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...

.

Football



The football
American football
American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...

 huddle
Huddle
In sport, a huddle is when a team gathers together, usually in a tight circle, to strategise, motivate or celebrate. It is a popular strategy for keeping opponents insulated from sensitive information, and acts as a form of insulation when the level of noise in the venue is such that normal...

 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
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing sports men and women. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 Ed Hottle began his campaign to return to the NCAA ranks. With support from the Gallaudet administration, the Bison played their last season of club football in 2006 and will played a full NCAA slate of eight games in 2007.

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


Gallaudet University, which plays in the NCAA-III division in all sports, has had its share of students that went to notably in a range of sports. Such athletes are:
  • Richard Jacobs, member of the national US Team Handball squad, with several international games to his credit; was one of the last cuts with the US Olympic Team Handball squad
  • Dawn Birley, certified as Olympic-eligible, won several national Canadian TaeKwonDo championships; she didn't make it to the Olympics only because Canada was not one of the invited nations in this event
  • Denny Guinn, also another Canadian, was the nation's top ranked Air Pistol shooter; while representing Gallaudet at the National Collegiate Shooting championship, finished #1 in the nation, despite having to practice at a shooting range, off campus because of safety concerns
  • Marvin Marshall won the Washington, DC local Golden Gloves boxing championship and took part at the national Golden Gloves championship; had over 500 amateur bouts in his boxing career
  • Gillian Hall was a Connecticut state synchronized swimming champion

Greek Life


The campus greek system are relatively small with only 4 fraternities and 4 sororities. The four fraternities are; Kappa Gamma
Kappa Gamma
Kappa Gamma is the first fraternity for the deaf men in the world. It was organized by three undergraduate student leaders on January 4, 1901. It was descended from the H.O.S.S. secret society in which was established in 1863, then as Xi Phi Sigma fraternity before finally settling in as the Kappa...

, Alpha Sigma Pi, Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma
ΚΣ is an international fraternity with currently 231 active chapters and 30 colonies in North America. There have been more than 245,000 initiates, of which more than 188,000 are living and more than 12,900 are undergraduates...

, and Delta Sigma Phi
Delta Sigma Phi
Delta Sigma Phi is a fraternity established at the City College of New York in 1899 and is a charter member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. The headquarters of the fraternity is the Taggart Mansion located in Indianapolis, Indiana...

. Sororities are; Phi Kappa Zeta
Phi Kappa Zeta
Phi Kappa Zeta is a deaf sorority at Gallaudet University. It was founded as an unofficial organization in 1892, making it one of the oldest sororities at Gallaudet....

, Delta Epilson, Alpha Sigma Theta, and Delta Zeta
Delta Zeta
Delta Zeta is a college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Today, Delta Zeta has 158 collegiate chapters in the United States and over 200 alumnae chapters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada...

. Kappa Gamma is the first greek organization on campus with their roots being established in the mid-19th century. Phi Kappa Zeta followed up later in the century. Both societies practice elitism and only initiate few select outstanding students each year.

Research


The Gallaudet Research Institute (GRI) is internationally recognized for its leadership in deafness-related research. GRI 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.

Graduates in Gallaudet's early history

  • Early graduates by class year
  • Melville Ballard
  • Amos Draper
  • Olof Hanson
    Olof Hanson
    Olof Hanson was a Deaf American architect.-Biographical information from the public domain:Olof Hanson (September 10, 1862 - September 8, 1933) was a Deaf American architect.-Biographical information from the public domain:Olof Hanson (September 10, 1862 - September 8, 1933) was a Deaf American...

  • John B. Hotchkiss
  • Alto M. Lowman
  • George Veditz
    George Veditz
    George William Veditz was a former president of National Association of the Deaf of the United States and was one of the first to film American Sign Language.-Early life:...


Quotations


"America does mean opportunity. But it was not until 1864 that that great principle found illustration in a college for the training of the deaf. A German writer, commenting upon American literature, declares that the central note in it, the special characteristic of all our great writers, has been idealism—high and lofty idealism. And he says it is no wonder that Longfellow's poem 'Excelsior' was written by an American, because the excelsior note is the dominant note in American literature. This college, ladies and gentlemen, is 'Excelsior' wrought into an institution. It stands for justice, not charity. This college, and this college alone stands for the principle that a limitation upon one faculty shall not be a limitation upon all faculties, but rather a challenge to all faculties. It stands for the principle that the men and women who enter here shall see before them the same shining goal that beckons to the men and women who enter other colleges. It stands for the principle that the human mind, if compassed by eternal silence, shall be compassed also by eternal truth."--C. Alphonso Smith, from address given on Presentation Day at Gallaudet, May 6, 1914.

"In an age of improvement like the present, society does not rest satisfied with the achievement of mere essentials. The genius of civilization demands progress until absolute perfection is attained."--Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet , son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was a famous early educator of the deaf in Washington, DC...

, 1867.

"Columbia Institution for the Deaf" was the corporate name for what is now Gallaudet University. In 1954 a law was passed, changing the corporate name to "Gallaudet College." (The collegiate department of the Columbia Institution had gone by the name "Gallaudet College" since 1894.) In 1986 another law was passed, changing the name to "Gallaudet University."

Year-by-year chronology of notable events


The Columbia Institution began as a grammar school in 1857, then added a college department in 1864.

First decade



1857-1858: The school was established with considerable efforts being made by several concerned citizens of Washington, D.C. Two houses were used, one purchased, and one rented.

The First Annual Report was submitted to the Secretary of the Interior on November 1, 1858.

1858-1859: The school's second full year of operation. During the year, 14 deaf students were in attendance, as well as 7 blind students. Superintendent Gallaudet, anticipating the future growth of the school, requests money for more buildings, lamenting the fact that the money wasn't issued in the year prior, due to federal budget problems.

The Second Annual Report was submitted on November 5, 1859.

1859-1860: President Kendall beseeches the federal government for funds to relocate the school to more spacious grounds. Superintendent Gallaudet praises President Kendall for having donated money to construct a new brick building, yet reports that both school buildings are already at capacity. There were 24 deaf students, necessitating the need for a second teacher of the deaf. The teacher of the 6 blind students, Mrs. Eddy, resigned due to health concerns.

The Third Annual Report was submitted on November 5, 1860.

1860-1861: The Civil War had been in progress for over six months, but Superintendent Gallaudet reports that the students are 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. A committee inspected the school and gave a report, which is included. Sample essays written by congenitally deaf students are also included.

The Fourth Annual Report was submitted on November 5, 1861.

1861-1862: Supt. Gallaudet explains that new moneys provided for industrial education were used to rent a nearby shop in order to teach cabinet-making to the boys. Plans were underway to construct a new building using $9000 that Congress appropriated. There were 35 deaf students and 6 blind students. During vacation in August a regiment of 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, Supt. Gallaudet proposes expanding the school to create a college for deaf students. An examining committee gives a report and student writing samples are included.

The Fifth Annual Report was submitted on November 3, 1862.

1862-1863: Even with new construction completed, the school is still at capacity and more money is needed to purchase of adjoining land and then build even more buildings. Supt. Gallaudet asks for money to pipe in water from the river, the existing cistern and well being inadequate to the school's needs. President Kendall praises the school's matron, Mrs. Sophia Gallaudet (the superintendent's mother) for the fact that not a single student has died during the entire course of the school's existence.

The Sixth Annual Report was submitted on October 15, 1863.

1863-1864: For the first time, college-level classes are offered, the new collegiate department representing what will later expand to become Gallaudet College and later Gallaudet University. Congress approved of Columbia granting college degrees, and an enabling act for the college was passed and approved by President Lincoln. An elaborate inauguration ceremony was held in June with Laurent Clerc
Laurent Clerc
Laurent Clerc , born Louis Laurent Marie Clerc, was called "The Apostle of the deaf in America" and "The Father of the Deaf" by generations of American deaf people...

 in attendance. A complete transcript of the Gallaudet's and Clerc's addresses is included.

Two students had died, one from illness while on vacation, and another was struck by a train.

Fourteen acres of land was purchased with money supplied by the government. Supt. Gallaudet has been promoted to President of the institution and he presses hard for more money to expand and build new buildings.

President Gallaudet proposes ceasing services for blind students, saying that the small number of blind students would be better served at the school for the blind in Baltimore.

The Seventh Annual Report was submitted on November 17, 1864.

1864-1865: The enrollment numbers are increasing rapidly with more increases on the horizon. President Gallaudet asks 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 is continuing. The name of the collegiate department is changed to "National Deaf-Mute College." The blind students are transferred to a school in Baltimore. Passing reference is made to the end of the Civil War, but no mention is made of the assassination of President Lincoln which occurred in April during the school year—the first year of operation of the college department.

The Eighth Annual Report was submitted on November 6, 1865.

1865-1866: President Gallaudet responds to criticism from supporters of the oral method in Massachusetts and explains that oral instruction is usually of little value to congenitally deaf children. He proposes 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, exceeds 100 for the first time. There are 25 students enrolled in the college, including students from 14 states of all parts of the Union. Sophia Gallaudet, the widow of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and the matron of the school, tendered her resignation. Edward Allen Fay joins the faculty as a professor of history, having learned to sign as a child.

The Ninth Annual Report was submitted on November 6, 1866.


1866-1867: Two students died while swimming in the Potomac with large group of students. The building for the primary school is extended and sickness is thereby reduced. A mathematics professor is hired for the first time. More money is needed to accommodate additional students expected to swell the ranks of the school.

President Gallaudet gives a lengthy account of his travels to Europe and is very critical in his comments of the extent to which speech is taught to deaf children in European schools for the deaf. Nevertheless, he recommends that a limited amount of speech training be afforded to deaf students in America to those who show they can benefit.

Gallaudet's travels took him to: Doncaster, England; Birmingham, England; Manchester, England; Liverpool, England; Glasgow, Scotland; Belfast, Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Geneva, Switzerland; Nancy, France, Saint Hypolite Du-Fort, France; Vienna, Austria; Leipsic, Saxony (Leipzig, Germany); Lubec (Lübeck, Germany); Frankfort On-the-Main (Frankfurt am Main, Germany); Brussels, Belgiam; Zürich, Switzerland; Rotterdam, Holland; Paris, France; Weissenfels, Prussia (Weißenfels, Germany); Prague, Bohemia; (Prague, Czech Republic); Berlin, Prussia (Berlin, Germany); Milan, Italy; Genoa, Italy; Turin, Italy; Dresden, Saxony (Dresden, Germany); London, England; Edinburgh, Scotland; Bordeaux, France; Marseilles, France; Munich, Bavaria (Munich, Germany); Bruges, Belgium; St. Petersburg, Russia; Abo, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Tenth Annual Report was submitted on October 28, 1867.

Second decade


1867-1868: 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 schools for the deaf were represented from 22 different states. The chief topic of discussion was the recommendations put forth by Edward Gallaudet regarding adding articulation lessons to schools' curricula.

The Eleventh Annual Report was submitted on October 26, 1868.

1868-1869: James Henry Logan, John Burton Hotchkiss, and Joseph Griffin Parkinson became the first three students to complete a full course of college studies, all graduating with bachelor's degrees.

The Twelfth Annual Report was submitted on October 20, 1869.

1869-1870: The esteemed founder of the school, Amos Kendall, died in November 1869. President Gallaudet delivered a eulogy at the board meeting in January. The main central building 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. President Gallaudet cautioned Congress that Kendall's heirs had plans to subdivide the property if it was not sold to Columbia, and hence the land would never again become available for purchase as a whole.

The Thirteenth Annual Report was submitted on October 29, 1870.

See also

  • American Sign Language
    American Sign Language
    American Sign Language is the dominant sign language of the Deaf community in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...

  • Bilingual-bicultural education
    Bilingual-bicultural education
    Bilingual-bicultural or BiBi educational programs focus on making the classroom bilingual via a means of natural native sign language used to buttress learning for a written spoken language....

  • Laurent Clerc
    Laurent Clerc
    Laurent Clerc , born Louis Laurent Marie Clerc, was called "The Apostle of the deaf in America" and "The Father of the Deaf" by generations of American deaf people...

  • Deaf culture
    Deaf culture
    Deaf culture is a term applied to the social movement that holds deafness to be a difference in human experience rather than a disability. When used in the cultural sense, the word deaf is very often capitalized in writing, and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech.Those who consider themselves...

  • Deaf President Now
    Deaf President Now
    Deaf President Now was a student protest at Gallaudet University, the liberal arts university for the Deaf in Washington, DC, pushing for the selection of a Deaf university president. The university, established by an act of Congress in 1814 to serve the Deaf, had always been led by a hearing...

  • Andrew Foster (educator)
    Andrew Foster (educator)
    Andrew Jackson Foster was a missionary to the Deaf in Africa from 1956 until his death in 1987. He became the first Black Deaf person to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet College and the first to earn a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University...

  • Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
    Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
    Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., was a renowned American pioneer in the education of the deaf. He helped found and was for many years the principal of the first institution for the education of the deaf in North America...

  • Amos Kendall
    Amos Kendall
    Amos Kendall was an American politician who served as U.S. Postmaster General under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Many historians regard Kendall as the intellectual force behind Andrew Jackson's presidential administration, and an influential figure in the transformation of America from an...

  • Edward Miner Gallaudet
    Edward Miner Gallaudet
    Edward Miner Gallaudet , son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was a famous early educator of the deaf in Washington, DC...

  • Minority language
    Minority language
    A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities.-International politics:...

  • Sign language
    Sign language
    A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...

  • William Stokoe
    William Stokoe
    William C. Stokoe, Jr. was a scholar who researched American Sign Language extensively while he worked at Gallaudet University...

  • Unity for Gallaudet Movement
    Gallaudet United Now Movement
    The Unity for Gallaudet Movement is a protest movement started by students, faculty and alumni of Gallaudet University and other sympathizers who do not support the nomination of Dr. Jane Fernandes as president of the university. I...

  • Gallaudet University Annual Reports
    Gallaudet University Annual Reports
    Starting from the Columbia Institution's inception as a grammar school in 1857, continuing through the creation of its collegiate department in 1864, and continuing up to 1932, Gallaudet University published a total of sixty-five annual reports, as required by federal law...


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