Gallaudet University Essay Example for Free

Gallaudet University Essay Gallaudet is a premier and the only university dedicated to educating and broadening the career choices of deaf, hard-of-hearing and a minority of hearing students as well. Duly accredited, it currently offers 40 Bachelor of Arts or Science degrees in its undergraduate program as well as certificates, masteral, specialist and doctoral degrees in its graduate program (Gallaudet, 2008). Gallaudet’s strong commitment to the education of the deaf is also evident in its accomplishment of high-quality research on various aspects of the lives of deaf people. It also maintains the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center catering to deaf and hard-of-hearing children. It is through this center that the university fulfills its federal mandate to pioneer the development, implementation and dissemination of educational strategies for the deaf (Gallaudet, 2008). Gallaudet began as the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf, Dumb and Blind, incorporated by Congress in 1857 (Gallaudet, 2008). The original school building was situated on two acres of land in Northeastern Washington, D. C. which was donated by the businessman Amos Kendall the year before. The first set of students was composed of six blind and twelve deaf individuals. The first school superintendent, and later president of the corporation, was Edward Miner Gallaudet whose father, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founded the first institution for the deaf in the country (Gallaudet, 2008). In 1864, Congress permitted the school to grant college degrees through a law enacted by President Abraham Lincoln and the first commencement happened in June, 1869 where three young men received their diplomas signed by President Ulysses S. Grant (Berke, 2007). Up to the present, the incumbent U. S. President signs the diplomas of Gallaudet graduates. From then on up to the 1950’s, the college underwent many developments as enrollment steadily rose which necessitated the expansion of its physical structure as well as enhancement of the capacity of its faculty and other personnel. Through another act of Congress, the college was renamed Gallaudet College in 1954, in honor of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and in 1969, the two schools that today make up the Laurent Clerc Center were established with the support of the U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and President Richard Nixon (Berke, 2007). The evolution and expansion of Gallaudet as an institution continued on to the following decades. Finally, in October 1986, Congress conferred to the 122 year-old college its university status so that in the succeeding semester, the total number of students enrolled in all programs reached a peak of nearly 2,000 (Gallaudet, 2008). Two years later, students launched the Deaf President Now (DPN) to persuade the Board of Trustees to appoint a deaf president, a position that has always been held by hearing people. The DPN campaign’s major impact on the community, the country and even beyond was the greater consciousness it created with regards to deaf people. The pressure that the protest created led to the appointment of I. King Jordan as Gallaudet’s first deaf president while the appointment of Philip Bravin as the first deaf chair of the Board followed fueling changes that today allowed 51 percent of the members of the Board to be deaf (Jordan, 2007). Gallaudet is also renowned for organizing and hosting international gatherings the Deaf Way I in 1989 followed by Deaf Way II in 2002, to â€Å"honor the history, language, art, culture, and empowerment of deaf people† (Gallaudet, 2008). Further, it has pledged its commitment to promoting environmental protection as well as respect for diversity (greenreportcard. org, 2008). Finally, the university also employs and adapts modern technology to the needs of the deaf as can be witnessed at the James Lee Sorenson Language and Communication Center and the Student Academic Center (Gallaudet, 2008). List of References Berke, J. (2007). Deaf History – History of Gallaudet University. Retrieved 14 October 2008 from http://deafness. about. com/cs/featurearticles/a/gallyhistory. htm. Gallaudet University (2008). History, Diversity, Fast Facts. Retrieved 14 October, 2008 from http://www. gallaudet. edu/Diversity. xml. Greenreportcard. org (2008). College Sustainability Report Card: Gallaudet University. Retrieved 14 October 2008 from http://www. greenreportcard. org/report-card- 2009/schools/gallaudet-university. Jordan, I. K. (2007). Deaf Culture and Gallaudet. Retrieved 14 October 2008 from http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp- dyn/content/article/2007/01/21/AR2007012101118. html? sub=AR.