Hi5 | Faculty Kushalnagar awarded $4.4 million grant, Sex and Gender Studies program launches, President Cordano on Fortune panel
October 15, 2021

Welcome to the October 15 issue of Hi5! Our Board of Trustees is wrapping up its fall meeting as I sign this. National Latinx Hispanic Heritage Month ends tonight with an exciting program. Homecoming is next week -- face-to-face for students, virtual for alumni. We look forward to it!

As always, see our events calendar to find out about the many events planned for October and beyond.

Here is the Hi5 news for this issue!

1.
Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar has been awarded a five-year, $4.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to address cancer health equity within the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind community. This grant will fund development of a customized technology platform for use by community health workers who are deaf, deafblind, or hard of hearing and use American Sign Language (ASL). The University of Texas, Sam Houston State University, the University of Virginia, and a company called Starship, Inc. are all involved, along with several community collaborators. This is a HUGE grant. We congratulate Dr. Kushalnagar and wish her much success! Read more on our website.

2.
A new Sex and Gender Studies certificate program began this fall. The result of four years of careful planning, this certificate will be available to undergraduate, graduate, and Professional Studies students. It includes internship and research opportunities, and is expected to make significant contributions to the body of knowledge about LGBTQIA+ issues. We express our great appreciation to Dr. David Barclay, professor of Social Work, for his hard work to make this program a reality. Read more on our website.

3.
President Cordano had a busy two weeks! She was keynote presenter at the National Diversity Council’s Disability Inclusion Summit and was awarded the Disability Inclusion Leadership award.

She also attended Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Summit and sat on the ​​Allyship, Mentorship, and Leveling the Playing Field panel, along with leaders from Chipotle, Visa, and Workday. Read more on our website.

4.
Samantha Espinal, a third-year student in our Doctor of Audiology program, is one of six recipients of the American Academy of Audiology Foundation’s 2021 Empowering Students Scholarship. This award recognizes students who show exceptional promise as clinical audiologists. Congratulations, Samantha! Read more on our website.

5.
Sam Atkinson, our long-time Associate Athletic Director for Communications, has been selected to the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Committee. He and his colleagues on the committee will oversee the national championship in November. Way to go, Sam! Read more on our website.

These are our main stories.

We also want to welcome Mindi Greenland, Class of 2004, to our Board of Trustees. Finally, Mbisana Kgakgamatso, a senior biology major, took a summer course, Art of Protest, and produced some very powerful art celebrating the lives of deaf people who have had adverse encounters with law enforcement. Mbisana’s professor, Amy Stevens, arranged for him to meet the artist who inspired his work. See the photo essay on our website.

That’s it for this issue of Hi5. We will be back on October 29. Have a good weekend!