[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 54 (Thursday, March 28, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E365]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE 
                              FOR THE DEAF

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                         HON. JOSEPH D. MORELLE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 28, 2019

  Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the National 
Technical Institute for the Deaf on celebrating 50 years of providing 
an outstanding education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The 
National Technical Institute for the Deaf, or NTID, is one of the nine 
colleges at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. 
With almost 9,000 alumni and a 94 percent average employment rate over 
the past five years for its deaf and hard-of-hearing graduates, NTID 
continues to open doors and break down barriers for people who are deaf 
or hard-of-hearing.
  For decades, the deaf community advocated for a technical university, 
and in 1965, that dream became a reality. After legislation was 
introduced in April that year, the National Technical Institute of the 
Deaf was established by Congress via Public Law 89-36 and signed by 
President Lyndon Baines Johnson on June 8, 1965. Three years later, in 
September 1968, 70 deaf young men and women arrived at the Rochester 
Institute of Technology, or RIT, campus to become the charter class of 
NTID students.
  And here we are, 50 years after that charter class was facing the 
completion of its first year of academic instruction, and NTID is still 
excelling at its primary mission. ``. . . to provide deaf and hard-of-
hearing students with outstanding state-of-the-art technical and 
professional education programs, complemented by a strong arts and 
sciences curriculum, to prepare them to live and work in the mainstream 
of a rapidly changing global community and enhance their lifelong 
learning.''
  We know NTID has succeeded because NTID students persist and graduate 
at rates favorable to national rates for two- and four-year colleges 
and because they are, on average, employed at higher rates and earn 
more over their lifetimes than deaf peers who do not attend NTID.
  Over the past 50 years, NTID has also surpassed expectations for its 
secondary mission, by establishing one of the country's oldest and most 
prestigious American Sign Language interpreter training programs, 
improving the education of deaf children and youth by preparing future 
educators, and conducting research and outreach that benefit deaf 
people worldwide.
  Serving as the U.S. Representative for Monroe County is a source of 
great pride for me, a pride that comes from knowing the role that 
Rochester has played and continues to play in changing the world for 
the better. NTID has helped make Rochester the diverse, innovative and 
determined community it is today. We are so fortunate to have this 
national treasure as part of RIT and part of Rochester. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in congratulating NTID on 50 years of excellence

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