April 30, 2025

Addendum to Updates from Academic Affairs

Addendum: The Education faculty have decided to suspend admissions to the Secondary Education programs — including the BA and MA in Secondary Education in Biology, Chemistry, English, General Sciences, Mathematics, and Social Studies — as well as to the undergraduate teacher preparation programs in Early Childhood and Elementary Education.

We will continue to accept students into the following programs:

• Undergraduate Education Minor

• MA in Early Childhood and Deaf Education

• MA in Elementary and Deaf Education

• MA in Deaf Education

• MA in Deaf Education Studies

• Education Specialist

• Doctorate in Transformational Leadership and Administration in Deaf Education (EdD)

• Doctorate in Critical Studies in the Education of Deaf Learners (PhD)

Dear Gallaudet University faculty and staff: 

As we approach the end of the academic year, I want to provide an update on several changes taking place in Academic Affairs. These changes are part of our broader efforts to position Gallaudet for future growth through Strategic Enrollment Planning (SEP) and to ensure we remain responsive, innovative, and sustainable.

Major and/or admissions to degree program suspension
To create space for the redesign of current programs and the development of new ones aligned with market needs and student demand, we are suspending admissions to the following majors, effective immediately:

• Art and Media Design
• History
• Mathematics
• Interdisciplinary Spanish major and minor

The faculty members in the School Psychology Psy.D and our Education programs have also voluntarily suspended admission to their degree programs for this year. Education has suspended admission to each of their dual licensure tracks: Deaf Education and Early Childhood Education; Deaf Education and Elementary Education, and undergraduate education.

We are working closely with affected faculty to support reassignments wherever possible and ensure a thoughtful transition and program redesign process.

Office of International Affairs 

The Office of International Affairs (OIA) has been restructured to better align with the university’s academic, student service, and compliance functions.

Effective May 19, the functions of OIA will be distributed as follows:

• International Student & Scholar Services will be overseen by B. Mutisya Nzyuko in the Graduate School. He will continue supporting both undergraduate and graduate students, including visa advising and admissions certification.
  
  
• Education Abroad will now report to Roberto Sanchez, Dean of Academic and Career Success, with Fiona Grugan continuing in her role. This move enhances support for all students and fosters closer faculty collaboration.
  
  
• International Coordination & Compliance will be split:
  
  
  • International Compliance and Coordination will continue to be managed by Rue Winiarczyk, who will now be working with both CORE (Dr. Caroline Kobek Pezzarossi) and the Provost’s Office (Dr. Paige Franklin).
  • International Relations will continue to be managed by Amanda Mueller and Senda Benaissa of the President’s Office, who will report directly to me in relation to this work.
  • Neal Murata will be joining us for a year as a Diplomat in Residence on detail from the U.S. Department of State. He will support Gallaudet’s Global initiatives including diplomatic engagement with foreign governments and institutions who sponsor our students and support our mission.

These changes are designed to clarify responsibilities, improve service, and enhance our ability to pivot as necessary during those uncertain times.

Course Offerings and Scheduling Adjustments

We will be reducing 10-20% of our course offerings to streamline scheduling, eliminate duplication, and maximize our instructional and interpreting resources. Dean Solomon has been working closely with school directors and academic programs, and this work will continue through the summer.

Adjunct hiring will be limited to specialty courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels only.

Interpreter Utilization Review
A comprehensive review of interpreter utilization is underway to better manage peak-time costs while continuing to provide excellent accessibility for our students, faculty, and staff.

The Chief Bilingual Officer Unit and the Bilingual Mission

As you are aware, ASL-Connect, the ASLPT, ASLPI, and other programs in the CBO unit will be moving to Academic Affairs. We are currently reviewing those programs and their personnel to determine where they would best fit within our units, and I expect to make decisions about this over the summer. I will provide a report to the community when we return in fall 2025 with information about any decisions made about those programs. 

Looking Ahead
These changes mean that Academic Affairs will be operating as a leaner, more agile division next year — one better positioned to develop innovative programs and offerings that meet the needs of our current and future students.

For example, this summer we are hosting the Family Learning Vacation for the first time in almost three decades. The program will be run by Candace Jones with support from Nuestra Casa and the Center for Black Deaf Studies, among others. We have initiated the Gallaudet Online implementation team (GO!) which is aimed at ramping up our online presence in both the continuing education and for-credit spaces. We are actively working on enhancing existing programs and developing new offerings that take advantage of Gallaudet’s strengths. 

Thank you for your commitment during this time of transition. I recognize that change is hard, but it is deeply necessary to position us to meet the needs of our students. I am deeply grateful for the work that you do every day to support our academic mission, and I wish you a wonderful summer.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Khadijat Rashid, '90
Provost