Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,164
- Reaction score
- 5
DesMoinesRegister.com
Although I was deaf when I moved to Iowa in 1978 for graduate studies - indeed I was born deaf - I didn't really learn what it meant to be part of deaf culture until I went to Iowa. At the University of Iowa, I first encountered, and was embraced by, the deaf community.
Despite having a deaf mother and brother, I was not exposed to the richness of American Sign Language and deaf culture until my early 20s. Growing up, I attended public schools and relied on speaking and speech reading to understand what was said to me. It never occurred to me that there were other ways to communicate because it was all I knew.
In 1980, as a first-year doctoral student, I was invited by my hearing roommate to go with her to a Cedar Rapids Association of the Deaf meeting. Ironically, she was taking a sign-language class that required students to interact with deaf people outside the classroom. Even though I did not know ASL, I felt an immediate bonding with the deaf people at the meeting, and they were quick to understand my need to belong to their community.
My graduate education and experiences in Iowa helped not only to shape my future, but also will affect one of our nation's truly unique and historic institutions. In May, I was named the ninth president of Gallaudet University, the only four-year liberal arts university in the world for students who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind. Gallaudet is in Washington, D.C., about a mile from the U.S. Capitol. Its charter was signed in 1864 by President Abraham Lincoln. Certainly, I am honored to be the next leader of this outstanding university.
While Gallaudet provides students with the same academic and extracurricular options as other universities, it is also an unambiguously "deaf university," a place committed to ASL and to the strengthening of the deaf community. Gallaudet is viewed by its alumni, indeed by many deaf people all over the country and around the world, as the center of deaf intellectual life.
One of the first invitations I received as Gallaudet's president-designate, and which I eagerly and gratefully accepted, was to be the guest speaker at the 125th anniversary celebration for the Iowa Association of the Deaf in Des Moines on Saturday. Iowa has a large and active deaf community, and for the past 125 years, IAD has advocated to protect the rights of deaf Iowans and to improve the quality of their lives.
I will always be indebted to the Iowa deaf community for opening its heart to me and introducing me to the riches of deaf culture and ASL. That experience serves as a model of what I envision for Gallaudet University: an academic community that welcomes all deaf and hard-of-hearing students - those who attended residential schools for the deaf, as well as those who attended public schools; those who are fluent in ASL and those who are not; white students and students of color.
I know I will enjoy many exciting life opportunities as Gallaudet University president. Returning to Iowa to celebrate the IAD's 125th anniversary is unquestionably one of them.
JANE K. FERNANDES is president-designate of Gallaudet University.
Although I was deaf when I moved to Iowa in 1978 for graduate studies - indeed I was born deaf - I didn't really learn what it meant to be part of deaf culture until I went to Iowa. At the University of Iowa, I first encountered, and was embraced by, the deaf community.
Despite having a deaf mother and brother, I was not exposed to the richness of American Sign Language and deaf culture until my early 20s. Growing up, I attended public schools and relied on speaking and speech reading to understand what was said to me. It never occurred to me that there were other ways to communicate because it was all I knew.
In 1980, as a first-year doctoral student, I was invited by my hearing roommate to go with her to a Cedar Rapids Association of the Deaf meeting. Ironically, she was taking a sign-language class that required students to interact with deaf people outside the classroom. Even though I did not know ASL, I felt an immediate bonding with the deaf people at the meeting, and they were quick to understand my need to belong to their community.
My graduate education and experiences in Iowa helped not only to shape my future, but also will affect one of our nation's truly unique and historic institutions. In May, I was named the ninth president of Gallaudet University, the only four-year liberal arts university in the world for students who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind. Gallaudet is in Washington, D.C., about a mile from the U.S. Capitol. Its charter was signed in 1864 by President Abraham Lincoln. Certainly, I am honored to be the next leader of this outstanding university.
While Gallaudet provides students with the same academic and extracurricular options as other universities, it is also an unambiguously "deaf university," a place committed to ASL and to the strengthening of the deaf community. Gallaudet is viewed by its alumni, indeed by many deaf people all over the country and around the world, as the center of deaf intellectual life.
One of the first invitations I received as Gallaudet's president-designate, and which I eagerly and gratefully accepted, was to be the guest speaker at the 125th anniversary celebration for the Iowa Association of the Deaf in Des Moines on Saturday. Iowa has a large and active deaf community, and for the past 125 years, IAD has advocated to protect the rights of deaf Iowans and to improve the quality of their lives.
I will always be indebted to the Iowa deaf community for opening its heart to me and introducing me to the riches of deaf culture and ASL. That experience serves as a model of what I envision for Gallaudet University: an academic community that welcomes all deaf and hard-of-hearing students - those who attended residential schools for the deaf, as well as those who attended public schools; those who are fluent in ASL and those who are not; white students and students of color.
I know I will enjoy many exciting life opportunities as Gallaudet University president. Returning to Iowa to celebrate the IAD's 125th anniversary is unquestionably one of them.
JANE K. FERNANDES is president-designate of Gallaudet University.