A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Speeches and Testimony

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Statement by

I. King Jordan
President of Gallaudet University

Before the

U.S. House of Representatives
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education

On the

Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Request
for Gallaudet University

March 18, 1999

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

I am pleased to come before you today to testify in support of the Administration's fiscal year 2000 budget request for Gallaudet University.

Congress has played a vital role in the higher education of deaf people in the United States, through 135 years of continuous support for Gallaudet University. Congressional support of Gallaudet University represents a commitment to and confidence in the aspirations of individuals with disabilities that is unique in the world. Each year I am grateful to have the chance to discuss with you the opportunities that have been opened to American individuals who are deaf because of Gallaudet University, opportunities that are not shared by deaf individuals in other parts of the world. This year, I must tell you how extremely pleased I am that, as a result of the amendments to the Education of the Deaf Act that were passed in October of last year, Congress has further recognized the critical role that Gallaudet plays in the world deaf community by increasing the number of international students who can attend the University.

For the past several years, Gallaudet has been engaged in the refinement of our strategic plan and in the process of working with the Department of Education to ensure that our plan fulfills the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). I am pleased to report that progress toward our goals, as tracked by GPRA indicators, is now an explicit part of the budget process. Much of what I will discuss today is reflected in the planning documents that we have developed jointly with the Department. Gallaudet has made progress in achieving all three of its strategic objectives, which focus on: improving student academic and career achievement, providing leadership in setting the national standard for best educational practices for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and establishing a sustainable resource base.

PRIORITY 1: STUDENT ACADEMIC AND CAREER ACHIEVEMENT

In order for Gallaudet to continue to serve a critical function for people who are deaf across the United States and the world, it is vital that we increase the number of our students who graduate. To that end, we are using different but interrelated approaches. We are re-examining our assumptions about learning and teaching and how those assumptions affect the approaches we take to achieve particular student outcomes. The University has continued to upgrade its technological infrastructure and infuse the most advanced technology into all of our programs of instruction and research. As technology redefines the landscape of education and the workplace, Gallaudet is re-examining how it can ensure that our students are prepared to become effective users, consumers, and producers of technology. The University is employing technologies that support all types of learning-including traditional face-to-face instruction, self-paced instruction, online synchronous learning (real time), and online asynchronous learning (any time, any place). Gallaudet students, faculty, teachers, and staff are eagerly exploring applications of technologies such as web-enhanced and web-based courses, video conferencing, and real-time captioning.

During fiscal year 1999, Gallaudet will commit about $4 million to technology, including $2.4 million provided by Congress for this purpose. As a result of this investment, the University will ensure that our new, integrated information system is Y2K compatible, will facilitate the transition to our new email and internet support system, and will further integrate our learning technology and research systems.

The University has been making major efforts to increase the proportion of deaf undergraduates who complete bachelor's level programs at Gallaudet. As the first year in college is the year of highest risk for failure and withdrawal, Gallaudet has embarked on an intensive First Year Program for all new students. Under the purview of the School of Undergraduate Studies, this program is linked with major academic support services, including: tutorial services, the Writing Center, academic and career advising, orientation programs, the Honors Program, and the Career Center. Students who are enrolled in the First Year Seminar are expected to attend co-curricular activities offered by several other programs on campus. Longitudinal studies of persistence and success that the University is currently conducting will provide much more useful information about the progress of students than the studies we have conducted to date. In particular, these studies will provide accurate data about the graduation rates of students over extended periods of time.

Additionally, in order to improve the quality of all Gallaudet programs, the University is working hard to promote literacy both in English and in visual communication. In comparison to other universities, Gallaudet remains unique in providing student instruction through direct visual communication in English and American Sign Language. Gallaudet students' educational and vocational outcomes are inextricably interwoven with literacy in more than one linguistic system, and this requirement for advancing literacy extends to faculty and staff. In its third year of operation, Gallaudet's Center for American Sign Language Literacy (CASLL) provides proficiency evaluation, diagnostic assessment, and instruction in sign language to the campus community. Additionally, the Center is engaged in ongoing research and curriculum design related to the acquisition of American Sign Language as a first or second language. An example of this is CASLL's collaborative work with Pre-College National Mission Programs in the development and implementation of a comprehensive instrument to assess sign language skills for students of all ages.

The University is particularly motivated to increase the graduation rate of its students, because of the excellent prospects that Gallaudet graduates enjoy. Data about our alumni, collected over the past several decades, indicate that students have a high rate of success in obtaining productive employment and in earning advanced degrees. Researchers at the University are currently designing a new major study that will provide further information about the success of our deaf graduates and the importance of literacy in their achievements throughout their lives.

PRIORITY 2: PROVIDING LEADERSHIP IN SETTING THE STANDARD FOR BEST EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

Gallaudet is committed to ensuring that technology continues to remove accessibility barriers for deaf and hard of hearing people. Gallaudet takes very seriously its leadership role in meeting the needs of the deaf community and the larger community of which it is a part in the era of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Now more than ever, individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing have a wide variety of opportunities to make valuable contributions as members of American society, and American society increasingly welcomes these contributions. Gallaudet sees technology as an important means to help achieve that result, as well as a mechanism for improving its own efficiency and effectiveness in providing high quality educational, research, and outreach programs.

Pre-College National Mission Programs (PCNMP) is comprised of the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES), the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD), and related research, demonstration, and outreach activities designed to improve educational programs for deaf children throughout the United States. PCNMP is playing a vital role in serving the extended deaf community by continuing to implement its three priorities for research, development, and dissemination that were established through a process involving public comment: (1) Literacy; (2) Family involvement; and (3) Transition to work or higher education.

As part of its mandate to serve the Nation's deaf students, PCNMP has been greatly expanding its work with a variety of educational programs throughout the country. Gallaudet is funding cooperative agreement with programs in the following locations: New York City; Worcester, Massachusetts; Las Vegas, Nevada; St. Paul, Minnesota; Romney, West Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Frederick, Maryland; Lomira, Wisconsin; Hustisford, Wisconsin; Tucson, Arizona; Burbank, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Seattle, Washington; Encino, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Knoxville, Tennessee; Delavan, Wisconsin; Trenton, New Jersey; St. Louis, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; San Antonio, Texas; Danville, Kentucky; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Hampton, Virginia; Riverside, California; Framingham, Massachusetts; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Land O' Lakes, Florida; Hesperia, Michigan; Fremont, California; Blaine, Minnesota; Beaumont, Texas; St. Augustine, Florida; Faribault, Minnesota; Stanton, Michigan; Devils Lake, North Dakota; Boxborough, Massachusetts; Fulton, Missouri; Sulphur, Oklahoma; Gooding, Idaho; and Fairfax, Virginia.

PRIORITY 3: ESTABLISHING A SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE BASE

The Education of the Deaf Act (EDA) amendments of 1998 made significant changes to the already highly successful endowment matching program that was authorized originally in 1986 and first funded in fiscal year 1988. Since the inception of the program, the University has matched more than $11 million in appropriated Federal funds, and the total market value of the fund stood at $36 million at the end of fiscal year 1998. I am also proud to inform you that the value of the University's total endowment now stands at more than $100 million. The EDA amendments of 1998 provide for increased flexibility in the investment of the endowment fund, and we believe that this will lead to greater growth in its value. In addition, the amendments require that the Federal funds be matched with private funds contributed in the year in which the Federal funds are matched. This means that, in the future, Gallaudet may match Federal endowment funds somewhat later in the fiscal year than has been true in the past. However, I anticipate matching $1 million in Federal endowment funds in both fiscal year 1999 and fiscal year 2000.

RENOVATION OF MSSD FACILITIES

In fiscal year 2000, the University is requesting $2.5 million to renovate dormitories and to plan for renovations of the main classroom building of the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. As of the end of fiscal year 1999, Gallaudet will have renovated four of the six MSSD dormitories using existing funding. These renovations to the 20 year old facilities had become critical due to health and safety concerns. Because the MSSD must be operated essentially as a public school, without tuition, Gallaudet is requesting the assistance of the Federal Government in addressing structural and health concerns associated with the remaining two dormitories. The requested funding will allow the University to begin design studies for a long overdue renovation of the school's main classroom building, which is also beginning to show signs of serious deterioration.

FISCAL YEAR 2000 BUDGET REQUEST

The budget request for Gallaudet University for fiscal year 2000 is $85,120,000, an increase of $1,640,000 over the amount that was appropriated in fiscal year 1999. The University plans to use these additional funds to offset inflationary increases related to its operations. The University also plans to reallocate $2.5 million, appropriated in fiscal year 1999 for technology projects, to support renovations of the facilities of the Model Secondary School for the Deaf.

Thank you for the opportunity to come before you today. I would be happy to respond to any questions you may have.


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Last Updated -- March 18, 1999(mjj)