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About
At a Glance
For over 150 years, our mission has been to empower deaf and hard of hearing communities globally. This mission lives through Gallaudet’s position as a space where the vitality of the deaf experience and vibrancy of sign language thrive.
By working for the greater good of our students and community, we believe we can create a better world. Together.
Since President Lincoln signed the legislation that broke ground on establishing a school for the deaf and hard of hearing, we remain the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf and hard of hearing students.
As a result of research by William Stokoe, a longtime professor of English at Gallaudet, and the support of two deaf colleagues, Ms. Dorothy Sueoka Casterline, ’58 and Mr. Carl-Gustaf Croneberg, ’55, the study of ASL linguistics was established.
The Deaf President Now (DPN) movement, which happened in 1988, has been synonymous with continuous efforts to improve the lives of deaf and hard of hearing people everywhere. It led to the appointment of the university’s first deaf president and instilled a sense of pride and accomplishment in deaf and hard of hearing people worldwide.
The university’s executive leadership team is predominantly deaf. Besides President Cordano, the chief of staff and the chief academic, bilingual, communications and undergraduate admissions, financial, legal, and operating officers are deaf. The dean of student affairs and the Clerc Center chief academic officer are also deaf. The majority of executive-level appointees are women. This ensures that the university’s leadership closely resembles the student body.
In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation authorizing the establishment of a college for deaf and hard of hearing students in Washington, D.C. We’ve grown a lot over the centuries and continue to evolve into our future.
See our progress over the early 1800s.
[Video Start][Video presented in English]
Gallaudet University: Our PROGRESS; We are becoming. 1817: American School for the Deaf founded, reinforcing deaf education in the United States 1854: John Carlin, a deaf artist and writer, advocates for a deaf college 1857: Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind 1864: President Abraham Lincoln signed the charter authorizing the Columbia Institution to award collegiate degrees. 1880: NAD founded Milan Conference 1887: White women admitted to Gallaudet on probationary status 1892 & 1893: Alto Lowman and Agatha Tiegel Hanson first women to graduate 1894: Changed name to Gallaudet College 1905: Kendall School becomes segregated; sends students of color to a school for colored deaf mutes in Maryland. 1913: Preserving Sign Language: George Veditz 1948: First Hispanic student: Robert R. Davila 1954: Andrew Foster first black male to graduate 1957: Ida Wynette Hampton first black female to graduate 1950s: Gallaudet became accredited 1952: Louise B. Miller won a suit against the District of Columbia Board of Education to allow her son and other black deaf children to attend Kendall School 1954: Black students integrated into classrooms at Kendall School 1960: William C. Stokoe authored a monograph recognizing ASL as a language 1965: Publication of A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles, by William C. Stokoe, Dorothy C. Casterline, and Carl G. Croneberg 1969: The Model Secondary School for the Deaf opens 1986: Gallaudet becomes a university 1988: Deaf President Now movement and first deaf President, Dr. I. King Jordan 1980s-1990s: Bilingual movement began in K-12 settings Learning Center for the Deaf (Marie Jean Philip) Indiana School for the Deaf (Laurene Simms) 1989: Unlocking the Curriculum: Principles for Achieving Access in Deaf Education; Robert E. Johnson, Scott K. Liddell, and Carol J. Erting 2007: First Hispanic Deaf President, Dr. Robert R. Davila 2007: Board of Trustees approves Gallaudet mission statement, recognizing Gallaudet as a bilingual, diverse, and multicultural institution 2008: Gallaudet cited as a model for other colleges and universities for its general studies program and culture of assessment 2008: Sixth Street development 2009: MSCHE report encourages Gallaudet to refine its mission statement 2010: Third Deaf President, Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz 2016: First openly LGBTQIA Deaf President, Roberta J. Cordano 2017: We started to develop our bilingual mission framework 2019: Board of Trustees adopted bilingual mission framework that was developed by faculty, staff, and students 2019: Gallaudet becomes an R2 university, a designation that recognizes its achievement in research and doctoral studies 2020: We announced the appointment of our first Chief Bilingual Officer, Dr. Laurene Simms Gallaudet University: We are becoming.
[Video End]
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