March 27, 2012; Washington, DC.
Contact: Washington Foreign Press Center Media Relations Officer Saul Hernandez
Telephone: 202-504-6327; email: hernandezsa2@state.gov
Journalists from nine countries attended a half-day tour of Gallaudet University, the world’s only university in which all programs and services are designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. University president Alan Hurwitz spoke to the journalists about the Americans with Disabilities Act and other legislation that supports the rights of the deaf and hard of hearing. Participants also learned about the university’s history, interviewed neuroscientists at the Brain and Language Laboratory, and toured new facilities that utilize “DeafSpace,” which provides visual cues for the hard of hearing. The tour concluded with a visit to an undergraduate lecture and interviews with deaf Peace Corps Volunteers and international students.
