Department of Interpretation and Translation

October 1, 2016
Tenure and Promotion Committee
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Street N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
Dear Colleagues:
With a humble passion for teaching, research, and service and for working towards the Gallaudet
University mission, I am submitting my application for tenure and promotion within the
Department of Interpretation and Translation. When I was first hired as faculty at Gallaudet
University, I was asked whether I wanted to apply my many years of university experience
toward tenure at Gallaudet. I chose instead to follow the full seven-year tenure path so I could
better acclimate to Gallaudets vision and mission. Now, after five years of serving as a faculty
member at Gallaudet, I feel I have achieve that goal and I am ready to apply for early tenure.
At this website you will find my academic portfolio, supporting documents, and videos that
detail my academic journey. In this cover letter, I offer a summary of my linguistic, cultural, and
professional journey that has shaped my work at Gallaudet.
I was born deaf to the deaf family in Washington State. I attended both Washington School for
the Deaf and the Oregon School for the Deaf. Commuting home on the weekends, I often made
new friends with the strange hearing people sitting next to me on the bus by teaching them the
manual alphabet and some signs. Clearly, my path to becoming a teacher began at a very young
age!
After graduation from high school, I attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf
(NTID) at the Rochester Institute of Technology. While a student at NTID, I was a student
assistant for ASL classes and linguistic research projects. I graduated from NTID with bachelors
degree in Social Work.
Two years after graduation I was employed as the manager of mental health group home where I
hired and supervised the interpreter for the home, clinic, and day treatment. Then I worked as a
research assistant for Communication Research Department at NTID. During that time (1985), I
took a course of Introduction to Teaching Sign Language taught by Dr. Bill Newell. The concept
of professionalization in this course ignited and transformed my professional career path
and still drives my passion today.

800 Florida Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002-3695

www.gallaudet.edu

In May 1986, I founded the Lilac Chapter of Sign Instructors Guidance Network (SIGN) with 40
members in Rochester, New York when the national SIGN was nonfunctional. In July 1986 at
the NAD convention in Salt Lake City, Dr. Newell offered me a new faculty position in the Sign
Communication Department at NTID. At that same conference, NAD executive director, Gary
Olsen, Bill Newell, and I gathered eight existing members of SIGN for an emergency meeting to
restart SIGN. Bill was elected as President and the group appointed me to be the SecretaryTreasurer. Bill served as the department chair and SIGN President simultaneously. We worked
together as a team for four wonderful years. I was the SIGN Secretary-Treasurer and the
President of the strong Lilac Chapter. The ASL teachers in New York City, Washington DC,
Florida, Minnesota and Colorado emulated our chapter model and by-laws. Many additional
chapters were founded across the country. In 1990, I became the President of SIGN and we voted
to change its name to American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA). We later voted
to cease offering the Manually Coded English (MCE) certification along with ASL evaluation
and certification. In 1995, Dr. Lynn Jacobowitz of Gallaudet University became President with
me as Vice-President. Later in 2000, I became the chair of Evaluation and Certification and
served for fifteen years until 2015. Three states, many universities, colleges, schools and
programs require ASLTA certification for their ASL teachers. In fact, the MASLED program at
Gallaudet requires ASLTA certification as a requirement for graduation.
During the years that I was at on faculty in the Sign Communication Department and the
President of SIGN (later ASLTA), I took a leave of absence for one year to attend California
State University at Northridge (CSUN) in order to study and earn a masters degree in
Educational Administration.
Several years later, I moved to North Carolina to work as the principal of middle school at NC
School for the Deaf and then became the manager of two regional centers for the deaf and hard
of hearing, overseeing 27 counties in western North Carolina. While principal, I hired and
supervised an interpreter to provide services campus-wide. Further I launched Deaf Studies
classes for middle school students and also continued teaching ASL classes for my teachers and
staff at NCSD and Western Piedmont Community College.
Several years later, Barbara Stansbury from Gardner-Webb University (GWU) who served on
Morganton Regional Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hard advisory group, convinced me to
come and teach in their new ASL Studies program. When I asked her if I could train students to
become ASL teachers, she responded with a resounding Yes! I taught at Gardner-Webb
University for the next 10 years.. It was during that time, that I decided to pursue a Ph.D. in
Educational Linguistics at the University of New Mexico.
In 2006, I accepted an offer from Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in Charlotte,
North Carolina, where I served as the chair of Interpreter Education program for five years. I led
a consortium with five other interpreter education programs in North Carolina to provide
professional development, standardization, and to update the curriculum so students could
transfer to other colleges program within the consortium. I also added 10 new courses to the
North Carolina Community College System.

Teaching
In September 2011, I became aware of a faculty opening at Gallaudet University and decided to
apply. I was hired as a faculty member for the Department of ASL and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet
University in January 2012. In that department, I taught graduate courses in the Masters in Sign
Language Education (MASLED) program on teaching methods, curriculum development, sign
language planning and advocacy, including supervised the students practicum and internship. In
addition, I taught one undergraduate course Introduction to Teaching ASL.
To pursue my interest in teaching at a doctoral level, I began teaching courses in the Department
of Interpretation in August 2013. In my current position, I have taught courses in the doctorate,
masters, and bachelors programs on topics of pedagogy, curriculum development, lesson
planning, and assessment. The doctoral courses I taught include pedagogy and internship, which
provided supervision of doctoral students who were teaching courses in the BA in Interpretation
program. I taught an MA course focusing on applying linguistic theory to the practice of
interpretation. Finally, I have taught a BA course titled Senior Seminar and Portfolio, which
required the students to conduct a small-scale research study and to present a poster in a public
venue. See the students work in this link:
http://www.gallaudet.edu/interpretation/department-of-interpretation-research/bai-studentresearch.html
I developed a new special topic course ASL to English Text Translation which is being taught
by a Ph.D. intern this fall for the first time under my supervision. It is my goal to see this a
growth of translation courses for our new focus in Translation Studies. My aim is to see an
expansion of ASL-to-English text translation service for Deaf people, including individuals with
arm/hand impairments so they can sign their presentations, reports, and/or information (in
video), and with a support of written translation.
I drafted another special topic course Administration and Supervision for Interpretation and
Translation Programs which was geared for students who are motivated to become ASL and
Interpreter Education program directors or chairs in their future.
I am currently serving as the chair of one dissertation committee, the co-chair of a second
committee, and serve on four other dissertation committees. I have also led one independent
study course with one doctoral student during the summer semester.
Teaching students always has been my joy and a meaningful purpose of coming to Gallaudet
University. The courses I have taught are found in my curriculum vitae, along with course syllabi
and student evaluations. Videos of my teaching and two peer evaluations are also included in the
portfolio.
In summary, I believe that my teaching history demonstrates that I have exceeded the
requirements in the Department of Interpretation and Translation tenure and promotion
guidelines.

Scholarship
I continue my commitment to scholarly activity, which is evidenced through my publications and
presentations.
I have contributed numerous publications to the research and professional literature. In 2015, I
co-edited a volume (with Dr. Brenda Nicodemus) titled Selected Papers from the 2014
International Symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation Research,
published by Gallaudet University Press. I also co-authored a volume (with Dr. Ashton, Dr.
Kurz, Dr. Newell, Dr. Peterson, & Dr. Zinza) titled Standards for Learning American Sign
Language (ASL) in the 21st Century. In World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages.
This volume outlines national standards for teaching American Sign Language and has potential
to impact 140 college interpreter education programs currently in operation in the U.S. as well as
countless high schools ASL courses.
In addition, I have published a book chapter titled Sign Language Teaching: History as a single
author, and co-authored three research-based book chapters titled ASL Head Movements
Critical Features in Interpretation, Deaf Perspectives on Translating a Political Speech into
American Sign Language: Implications for Classroom Teaching, and Undergraduate and
Graduate Level Interpreter Education: Pedagogical Consideration. Those chapters were
accepted by Conference for Interpreter Trainers for presentations in October 2016. I also coauthored one article titled Guidelines for Hiring ASL Teachers: A Resource for the Program
Administrator for a professional organization website. Finally, I have served as an ad-hoc
reviewer for two professional journals. This information can be found in the supporting
documents in the website.
In addition, I have provided numerous scholarly presentations. From January 2012 through
August 2015, I have given 20 presentations including invited keynote lectures at six state
conferences. I have lectured at two universities, a community college, a school for the deaf, the
headquarters of a national professional organization, and a video relay service company. In
addition, I have had three research papers accepted for presentation at two national conferences
and one international conference. Critically, I was an invited speaker in the 2014-15 Colloquium
Lecture Series for the Department of Interpretation and Translation. My lecture Are Some ASL
Lexical Signs a Thousand Years Old? had the largest registration in the history of the Series
1,115 participants both on-site and on-line. Here is the link of my presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlYvdQLMrGY&feature=youtu.be (begin at timecode:
22:50)
The number and quality of publications and presentations over the past five years indicates that I
have exceeded the expectations stated in the Department of Interpretation and Translation tenure
and promotion criteria for my scholarship.
Service
Service has been one of my greatest strengths as a faculty member at Gallaudet. I have
performed significant service activities for Gallaudet University in the Department of

Interpretation and Translation, the Department of ASL and Deaf Studies, several universities and
community colleges in the United States and Canada, the American Sign Language Teachers
Association (ASLTA) and its affiliates, the Registry of the Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and its
Center on Assessment of Sign Language Interpretation (CASLI), schools for the deaf in several
states, two video relay service companies, state associations of the deaf, and a deaf senior
citizens organization.
University and Department
From January 2012 to July 2013 in the ASL and Deaf Studies Department, I was the
coordinator of ASL2 program and ASL Center where I implemented a new ASL coaching
program in cooperation with Gallaudets Tutorial and Instructional Program (TIP). I co-authored
proposals for the Council on Undergraduate Education (CUE), designed to revise ASL 1-4
courses. In addition, I served on the committee to propose a new ASL program for faculty and
staff. Finally, I was the chair of search committee for the four teaching positions within the
department.
Since August 2013, within the Department of Interpretation and Translation, I have been the
coordinator of BA in Interpretation (BAI) program. One of my major roles has been to oversee
the screening and acceptance process for incoming BAI students. Enrollment in the BA program
has increased from an average of 16.8 students over past four years to 32 students in Fall 2016. I
successfully updated the BAI program outcomes and courses SLOs. In addition, I standardized
all BAI course syllabi. I co-authored the CUE proposals to revise the pre-requisites for several
BAI courses and created a new special topics course of ASL to English Text Translation.
In addition, I successfully launched a new coaching service in collaboration with Gallaudets
Tutorial and Instructional Program (TIP). I also participated in creating a new JumpStart
program for BAI students, which started in Summer 2015. It has been successful and recently
completed its second summer program in 2016. I also served as a faculty member in the Summer
Research Institute, which was offered by our department in 2015.
One of my major accomplishments was my guidance of articulation agreements with several
community colleges, an endeavor that will be critical for the university and department's
recruitment and enrollment endeavors. The first articulation agreement was achieved with
Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) on December 5, 2014. Four more articulation
agreements were made with 1) Austin Community College (ACC), 2) Front Range Community
College (FRCC) on September 10, 2015, 3) Ohlone College on March 2, 2016, and 4) John
Logan College on May 19, 2016. These agreements were made possible through the assistance of
administrators, the faculty of the Department of Interpretation and Translation, the DOIT
technology support staff, the GURIEC staff, the Registrars Office, and the Office of the
President. Videos of those articulation agreement ceremonies are included in this portfolio. I
anticipate that five more two-year colleges will have articulation agreements with our BAI
program in 2016-2016.
Other than BAI coordinator, I served as the chair of the search committee for departments
administrative assistant position and on several committees (comprehensive examinations,

academic excellence) and on the coordinators team within the Department of Interpretation and
Translation.
I have also provided service to the university beyond the department level. I have been serving
on the CUE committee since February 2013 and attended Institute Assessment Council meetings
representing the BAI. I am currently serving on the Ad-Hoc Committee on Chair and Program
Director Responsibilities and Compensation for Faculty Senate. In addition, I have served on
Center for Bilingual Learning and Teaching (CBLT) Advisory Group for two years where I have
narrated the rubric for the academic ASL website http://www.gallaudet.edu/center-for-bilingualteaching-and-learning/academic-asl/asl-public-presentation-rubic.html. Further, I filmed the
ASLTA certification application procedure for MASLED students (The YouTube link is
included in this portfolio).
Finally it was my honor when the Faculty Senate invited me to provide a tribute speech for the
outgoing president of Gallaudet University, Dr. Alan Hurwitz, at his farewell party on December
8, 2015. The YouTube link for this tribute is found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_8FUyiCXvI
External Service
My service to professional organizations, universities, community colleges, schools for the deaf,
and video relay service are numerous.

I was invited to several schools for the deaf to provide the training on the sign language
proficiency interview and ASL grammar.

I served as the chairperson of national ASL Teachers Association (ASLTA) Evaluation

and Certification for 15 years until June 30, 2015. I served on the national ASL Standards
committee for six years until the ASL standards book was published for ACTFL. I was
selected as the recipient of the George W. Veditz award from the national ASLTA at the
conference in June 2015, the organizations highest award. I continue to be involved with
the ASLTA Evaluation System Revision committee work. After stepped down as the
chairperson, I remain as an evaluator for their review team.

I was invited to serve on the advisory boards for the interpretation programs at Northern
Virginia Community College and Arundel Anne Community College.

I was invited to be an external reviewer for St. Catherine Universitys ASL Programs
program review in the period of December 2012 May 2013.

In past few years I consulted with George Brown Colleges ASL-English Interpreter
program in Toronto in Ontario, Canada. In October 2015, their ministry approved the
proposal to implement the first kind of Bachelor of Interpretation (ASL-English) in
Canada effective September 2016.

On July 1, 2016, I was appointed by Registry of the Interpreters for Deaf executive board

to serve as one of the five managers on new Center on Assessment of Sign Language
Interpretation (CASLI) for a term of two years. CASLI is charged with running the NCI
and CDI evaluation, and the development of new NCI and CDI written and performance
exams for 2018.
My curriculum vitae and portfolio provides evidence that I have exceeded the expectations of the
Department of Interpretation and Translation tenure and promotion guidelines for service.
Professional Integrity
I continue to hold to the highest level of professional integrity and team building with the
faculty, staff, programs, committees, and various teams across the university. My past D-REs
indicated that I have been demonstrating high professional integrity within and outside the
department.
In closing, I believe that my teaching, scholarship, service and professional integrity
demonstrated in past five years will show you that I am worthwhile for a tenure and promotion.
Again it is truly my passion to guide students and work with the outstanding people at Gallaudet
University. My hope is to continue to play an active role in supporting Gallaudet in achieving its
vision and mission. After being at NTID for 13 years, CSUN for one year, the University of New
Mexico for one year, Gardner-Webb University for ten years, and Central Piedmont Community
College for nearly six years, at last I truly feel I have found my my cultural, linguistic, academic
and professional home at Gallaudet University.
Thank you for your review of my application for tenure and promotion in the Department of
Interpretation and Translation at Gallaudet University. If you should have any questions or need
of clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,

Keith M. Cagle, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Department of Interpretation and Translation