Pausing UNH-M interpreting program, post #2
kristyadminPosted by Kristy Stellato, President of New Hampshire Association of the Deaf.
Kristy Stellato
NHAD President
Letter to the Community
“Protect the UNH-M ITP Program”
Hello to the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Community of New Hampshire and their friends, families, allies, and providers. My name is Kristy Stellato and I am the President of New Hampshire Association of the Deaf.
When the ASL/English Interpreter Training Program was established at University of New Hampshire in Manchester, the program was designed to academic training and cultural ingraining to interpreting students to become professional interpreters and provide communication access for us in several types of settings: medical, legal, community, employment, educational, religious, and so on.
Recently, the higher-ups of the university decided several degree programs, including the ITP program, would be paused starting in the fall of 2027. What pausing the a college degree program means enrollment would be restricted for an unknown period of time. After that, whether the ITP program would be able to make a full return without serious effects to the community is up in the air.
You all know the community and providers need well qualified interpreters to ensure clear and equitable communication access in all types of settings. Without this degree program, future interpreters may become harder to find in New Hampshire, less qualified, and more difficult to place for service requests through the local referral agencies.
You may wonder how, where, and whom you can contact at UNH-M. Therese are two of the primary decision makers: Dean Dawn Albertson and Provost Jen Riley. They can be reached at:
University of New Hampshire - Manchester
88 Commercial St.
Manchester, NH 03301
Dean Dawn Albertson Dawn.Albertson@unh.edu
Provost Jen Riley Jen.Riley@unh.edu
In your letter or email, you may include your experiences of how your interpreters were qualified by training through the ITP program at UNH-M, became culturally competent, and gained knowledge of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing world. Share your concerns about the impact of pausing the ITP program would have on the pool of new and future interpreters.
If you need any assistance, please reach out to any of the board members of New Hampshire Association of the Deaf.
Sincerely,
Kristy Stellato
NHAD President
president@nhadinc.org
