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Statement by
I. King Jordan
President
Gallaudet University
Before the House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education
on the
Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Request
for Gallaudet University
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
I am pleased to testify before you today in support of the Administration's Fiscal Year 1999 budget request for Gallaudet University. During this semester, we have held various activities at the University to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the historic Deaf President Now (DPN) movement that led to my appointment as the first deaf president of Gallaudet. These activities included a reenactment of the historic march by students, faculty, and staff from the Gallaudet campus to the Capitol that occurred on March 11, 1988. This march was an important part of the DPN movement because it reinforced in the minds of the American deaf community the strong relationship that their university has always had with the Congress. Today also marks my 11th appearance before this Committee to request continued Federal support for Gallaudet University--support that has continued unbroken for 134 years and that reaffirms each year the Nation's commitment to higher education for its deaf citizens. Each year, I am grateful to have the chance to discuss with you the opportunities that have been open to American deaf people because of Gallaudet University, opportunities that have not been open to deaf people in the rest of world.
Because of Gallaudet University, deaf people are able to participate fully in the American dream. Ten years ago, that dream was for self-determination, and the dream was realized through actions that were taken in the best spirit of American democracy. American deaf people were able to take this action because of the education that Gallaudet had afforded them with respect to their rights and responsibilities as citizens. For more than a century, Gallaudet has supplied the Nation with a workforce of educated deaf citizens, but especially in recent years, deaf citizens who could aspire to pursue any career. According to recent surveys, compared to national norms for former college students, high percentages of Gallaudet alumni hold executive, professional, and managerial jobs; and the salaries of Gallaudet alumni compare favorably with those of college educated people generally. Approximately half of former Gallaudet undergraduates go on to earn advanced degrees, and the vast majority will be productively employed during their postgraduate years.
As I reported to you last year, we are continuing to examine closely and review all of our academic programs with the intent to make them more effective and efficient. We have also reduced the size of our workforce. Since we began a voluntary program of downsizing in 1989, we have reduced our staffing levels by more than 18%. We have accomplished this reduction in our workforce with a minimum of disruption to our programs. As a result of these intensive program reviews, we were able to close our campus in northwest Washington, D.C. in 1995 and put the facility on the market for sale. I am pleased to report that we completed the sale of the property late last year and will place the proceeds from the sale in our endowment. Closure and sale of the campus will also result in savings in operations costs.
In past years, my written testimony has focused on progress in academics, research, and outreach at the University itself and within Gallaudet's Pre-College National Mission Programs, and I will briefly review that below, but I would like to focus in this testimony on progress in our plans to upgrade and expand the technological infrastructure of our campus. In Fiscal year 1998, with the support of this Committee, Congress generously provided $1.8 million to support this plan, and I would like to bring you up to date on our progress in accomplishing it. During the current fiscal year, we have begun to install the hardware and software that will support our new electronic mail and management information systems. In addition, we have begun the process of upgrading the campus fiber optic infrastructure. With the additional funds that are proposed in the Administration budget for Fiscal year 1999, we plan to support completion of the fiber optic upgrade, the installation of new World Wide Web servers, and full implementation of the management information and interactive video mail and communication systems.
The importance of these systems and other interactive learning technologies to our students cannot be overemphasized. Deaf students depend on visual learning strategies to make substantial progress in their education. At Gallaudet, upgraded systems will permit visually rich, interactive learning which maximizes the value of educational discoveries. These systems will also give our students and faculty access to state-of-the-art applications and networks, including Internet II. Enhanced academic technologies mean expanded access to the world of data, information, and interactive processes for educational and human development purposes. Such technologies remove barriers imposed by deafness from the educational process and are essential for preparing our students for the world of work and lifelong learning.
Gallaudet not only serves its own academic community on the Kendall Green campus, but others throughout the world through use of distance education and interactive learning strategies. Academic technologies are an essential component of our strategic objectives related to excellence in education, research, and outreach. Gallaudet is also working, in partnership and leadership fashion, with other leading universities on cutting edge visually interactive technologies and information systems through the internet.
The restructuring of research at Gallaudet was completed last year, and we will be assessing its impact on the quality of our programs. This effort has already had some major outcomes. We have dissolved many small theme-based centers; infused research and theme-based researchers into academic departments so that students may benefit from direct contact with active researchers; encouraged directed research by faculty and students with funds freed up by the reorganization; strengthened the support for university-wide research provided by the Gallaudet Research Institute; and reallocated funds to other university programs.
The Pre-College National Mission Programs at Gallaudet consist of the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES), the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD), and the research, evaluation, and outreach activities associated with these schools. In recent years, we have implemented a plan to obtain public input in the establishment of priorities for research, development, and demonstration, a process that is required by the Education of the Deaf Act Amendments of 1992. We have now completed that process and have published priorities for distribution to the field of deaf education. These priorities are as follows: (1) improved literacy skills of deaf and hard of hearing students; (2) improved education for the families of deaf and hard of hearing students; and, (3) improved programs to facilitate the transition of deaf and hard of hearing students from secondary school to work or further education. We have begun the process of identifying educational programs around the country with which to collaborate in achieving these priorities. In addition, excellent collaboration is occurring between the University and Pre-College National Mission Programs on several critical fronts. The Gallaudet University Regional Center also has been restructured to include Pre-College emphases and to expand opportunities for professional studies and conferences.
Thank you for the opportunity to come before you today. I will be happy to respond to any questions you may have.
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