The University of Rochester Medical Center, RIT, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf have been awarded a grant to help deaf and hard-of hearing students pursue graduate degrees in the sciences.
Dr. Thomas Pearson, director of UR's National Center for Deaf Health Research, says a $2.1 million dollar grant from a division of the National Institutes of Health will enhance the health of the deaf community by allowing deaf students to earn their doctorates in health-related fields. “It’s RIT and NTID as getting to be a better pitcher and we’re going to be a better catcher of these students who have not really had any exposure and sometimes have self-selected out of a career path, or once they got on the career path, found it so difficult they were not going to be able to succeed.”
Pearson says a “glass ceiling” has kept many deaf and hard-of -hearing students from achieving advanced degrees.
The goal of the five-year grant is to provide advanced training to 14 students.