Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the
District of ColumbiaWashington, 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. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
,
U.SThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard of hearing in the world, and is still 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 GallaudetReverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., was a renowned American pioneer in the education of the Deaf. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first institution for the education of the Deaf in North America, and he became its first principal...
, a notable figure in the advancement of Deaf education.
Gallaudet University is officially bilingual, with
American Sign LanguageAmerican Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
(commonly abbreviated
ASL) and
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
used for instruction and by the college community. Although there are not specific ASL proficiency requirements for undergraduate admission, many graduate programs do require varying degrees of knowledge of the language as a prerequisite.
Timeline
- In 1856, 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 GeneralThe United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer 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 KendallAmos 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 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) of his land to establish housing and a school for them.
- Though Amos Kendall played his contribution, 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...
is responsible for founding the college for the Deaf in D.C. He was not alone, however. John Carlin was involved as well. It was Carlin who suggested placing a monument of Thomas Hopkins GallaudetReverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., was a renowned American pioneer in the education of the Deaf. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first institution for the education of the Deaf in North America, and he became its first principal...
with Alice CogswellAlice Cogswell was the inspiration to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet for the creation of the now American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut....
.
- In 1857, the 34th 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 the 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
-House of Representatives:Before this Congress, the 1860 United States Census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 241 members...
authorized the Institution to grant and confirm college degrees. The collegiate department became known as the National Deaf-Mute College.
- 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".
- In September 2000, freshman Eric Plunkett was murdered in Cogswell Hall (later called Ballard North). In February 2001, freshman Benjamin Varner was murdered in Krug Hall (later called Ballard West). Joseph Mesa, also a freshman, was convicted in 2001 of both murders.
The Columbia Institution began as a grammar school in 1857, then added a college department in 1864.
Early history
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 13 acres (52,609.2 m²) 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 ClercLaurent Clerc , born Louis Laurent Marie Clerc, was called "The Apostle of the deaf in America" 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.
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.
In 1881, Laura Sheridan, a hearing woman, inquired about Gallaudet University accepting women. She was told that deaf women could not enter the institution. In 1887 Gallaudet agreed to allow women to apply with the intent that women would not stay. Temporary living arrangements were made, and the college remained co-education.
Deaf President Now (1988)
Student strikes at Gallaudet University starting March 6, 1988 revolutionized the perception and education of
Deaf cultureDeaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...
. Deaf students were outraged at the selection of another hearing president,
Elisabeth ZinserElisabeth Ann Zinser is a retired university president, most recently at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. Previously she was the chancellor of the Lexington campus of the University of Kentucky , and the first female president of the University of Idaho, serving from 1989-1995 in...
, 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 JordanIrving 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 NowDeaf President Now was a student protest at Gallaudet University. The university, established by an act of Congress in 1864 to serve the Deaf, had always been led by a hearing president...
(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 FernandesJane 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
provostA provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, 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 LanguageAmerican Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities 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 politicsIdentity politics are political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self-identified social interest groups and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance...
", saying, "We are squabbling about what it means to be deaf."
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
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 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 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 DavilaDr. Robert Davila served as the ninth president of Gallaudet University, the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students...
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 NortonEleanor 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 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
accreditationEducational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
organization, the Commission on Higher Education of the
Middle States Association of Colleges and SchoolsThe 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...
. It was also reported that in 2006, the Office of Management and Budget 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." 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 will be
Dr. T. Alan HurwitzDr. T. Alan Hurwitz is the Tenth President of Gallaudet University. Previously, he served as President of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Vice President and Dean of Rochester Institute of Technology. He served in a variety of other roles for most of NTID's 35-year history.Dr...
. He began his tenure on January 1, 2010.
Congressional charter
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 University (and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf
The National Technical Institute for the Deaf is the first and largest technological college in the world for students who are deaf or hard of hearing...
) are authorized to make purchases through the General Services AdministrationThe General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
.
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
- President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, 1870 http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_for_the_deaf_annual_report_1870.pdf and 1871 http://gallyprotest.org/voice_of_the_deaf_by%20_maxine_tull_boatner_page_89.pdf.
- President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
, 1877,http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_for_the_deaf_annual_report_1877.pdf, 1878 http://books.google.com/books?id=QO9agyBkL3MC&pg=RA3-PA132&dq=%22twenty-first+annual%22+hayes+gallaudet&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=hNLlSDzbrW98f0HOkSvUvXNSnF8#PRA3-PA132,M1, 1879 http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_for_the_deaf_annual_report_1879.pdf and 1880 http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_for_the_deaf_annual_report_1880.pdf.
- President James A. Garfield, 1881. http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_for_the_deaf_annual_report_1881.pdfhttp://saveourdeafschools.org/edward_miner_gallaudet_history_of_the_columbia_institution.pdf
- President Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...
, 1882. http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_for_the_deaf_annual_report_1882.pdf
- President Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, 1885. http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_1885.pdf
- President Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
, 1889. http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_for_the_deaf_annual_report_1889.pdf
- President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, 1906. http://saveourdeafschools.org/columbia_institution_1906.pdfhttp://worldcat.org/oclc/3215893&referer=brief_results
- President Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1964 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26297, and 1966 http://saveourdeafschools.org/lyndon_johnson_itinerary_june_13_1966.pdf.
- President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, 1994. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2889/is_n19_v30/ai_15524191
Campus
The Gallaudet campus has been designated a historic place on a number of 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
Athletics
Gallaudet is a member of NCAA Division III and the
North Eastern Athletic ConferenceThe North Eastern Athletic Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.-Members:...
. The teams that play in the North Eastern Athletic Conference are the men's and women's basketball, cross country, soccer teams, along with the baseball, softball and volleyball teams. However, the Gallaudet football team plays in the
Eastern Collegiate Football ConferenceThe Eastern Collegiate Football Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division III. Founded in 2009, it features institutions with teams primarily in other conferences.-Members:-External links:*...
. In addition to the football team, which plays in a different conference than most sports at Gallaudet, the men's and women's swimming teams, as well as the men's and women's track and field teams, compete as independents. The Bison compete in
baseballCollege 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...
,
basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA 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....
,
cross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
,
footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
,
indoor and outdoor track and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
,
soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
,
softballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
,
swimmingSwimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
,
tennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
,
volleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six 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.The complete rules are extensive...
, and
wrestlingCollegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...
. Their colors are buff and
blueBlue 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...
.
Women's Basketball
Prior to the arrival of Coach Kevin Cook in 2006, the Gallaudet Women's basketball team was nothing more than mediocre. The team had not yet had a full time basketball coach. In 2006, Kevin Cook took over as the head basketball coach after spending 10 years in the WNBA, coaching the Nigerian Women's Basketball team and coaching overseas. Cook became the first ever head Women's Basketball coach at Gallaudet. Cook did not anticipate such a large project in turning around the women's basketball team, but also faced problems with communication. Coach Cook did not know sign language. Since taking over as coach, Cook has learned ASL and signs during practices. Cook uses a translator during games *
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gallaudet-university-making-noise-womens-basketball/story?id=12908803 .
Prior to Cook's arrival, the Gallaudet Women's Basketball team hadn't won a conference game in five years and even lost a game by 75 points in Cook's first year in control *
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gallaudet-university-making-noise-womens-basketball/story?id=12908803 . Cook's persistance on defense and discipline has 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 *
http://www.d3hoops.com/seasons/women/2010-11/contrib/201103195aj906 .
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" *
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gallaudet-university-making-noise-womens-basketball/story?id=12908803 . With national media coverage of the Gallaudet Women's Basketball team surrounding the great run throughout the 2010-11 season, it is clear that the accomplishments of Gallaudet's female athletes are transcending the basketball court while giving Gallaudet students the opportunity to show their pride. 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" *
http://diverseeducation.com/article/14820/ .
Football
The
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
huddleIn 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 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 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. 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.
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 community is relatively small with only 4 fraternities and 4 sororities. The four fraternities are
Kappa GammaHeadquartered in Washington DC, "The Chosen Few", otherwise known as Kappa Gamma, is the world's first deaf fraternity. Its formation came from an 1863 secret society before becoming a fraternity in 1901; just like its parent, Kappa Gamma is also a secret society, thus, many aspects of the...
, Alpha Sigma Pi,
Kappa SigmaKappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...
, and
Delta Sigma PhiDelta 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 ZetaPhi 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 ZetaDelta Zeta is an international 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...
.
Research
The Gallaudet Research Institute (often abbreviated
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.
Notable alumni
- Early graduates by class year
- Melville Ballard
- Amos Draper
- Olof Hanson
Olof Hanson was a Deaf American architect.-Background: Olof Hanson was born in Fjälkinge, in Skåne County, Sweden. His father was a well-to-do farmer, county official, and railroad director. In 1874 the family had made arrangements to go to America, where a farm had been purchased...
- John B. Hotchkiss
- Alto M. Lowman
- Tyrone Giordano
Tyrone Giordano is a deaf American actor.An alumnus of Montgomery Blair High School and Gallaudet University, he began acting in Washington, DC in 1999...
- 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:...
- Romeo Magruder
- Russell Harvard
Russell Harvard is a deaf actor. He has portrayed the adult H.W. Plainview in There Will Be Blood and will portray professional fighter Matt Hamill in Hamill, a film about his life.-Filmography:* CSI: NY...
(actor)
- Dorothy Miles
Dorothy Miles 1931 - 1993. 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 the foundations for modern sign language poetry in the US and UK...
(poet)
- Gallaudet alumni cards (online images of alumni from 1866 to 1957)
- Schowe papers (digital collection of an alumnus of the Gallaudet University)
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."
"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 GallaudetEdward 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."
See also
- American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
- Bilingual-bicultural education
Bilingual-bicultural or BiBi education programs use sign language as the native, or first, language of deaf children. In the United States, for example, American Sign Language is the natural first language for deaf children...
- Laurent Clerc
Laurent Clerc , born Louis Laurent Marie Clerc, was called "The Apostle of the deaf in America" by generations of American deaf people...
- Willy Conley
Willy Conley is an American deaf photographer, playwright, actor and writer.-Education:1981 Conley got the Bachelor of Science for Biomedical Photographic Communication at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester .1982 he became a registered Biological Photographer at the University of...
- Deaf culture
Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...
- Deaf President Now
Deaf President Now was a student protest at Gallaudet University. The university, established by an act of Congress in 1864 to serve the Deaf, had always been led by a hearing president...
- 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
Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., was a renowned American pioneer in the education of the Deaf. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first institution for the education of the Deaf in North America, and he became its first principal...
- 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 , son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was a famous early educator of the deaf in Washington, DC...
- 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
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 C. Stokoe, Jr. was a scholar who researched American Sign Language extensively while he worked at Gallaudet University. He coined the term cherology, the equivalent of phonology for sign language .Stokoe graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY in 1941, and in...
- Unity for Gallaudet 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...
- American School for the Deaf
The American School for the Deaf is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States. It was founded April 15, 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc and became a state-supported school in 1817.-History:...
- Gallaudet University Annual Reports
- National Association for the Deaf (NAD)
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
External links