Final Decision to Remove AGBell Name

NTID Community:

I just learned that the RIT Board of Trustees, with support from President Destler, has accepted my recommendation that the Alexander G Bell name be removed from our dormitory. They followed the on-going discussion and are in agreement with the views expressed in my recent email to President Destler urging the removal of the name; I shared that email with you on June 30, 2008.

I hope that each of you, like me, learned a great deal from the open process we pursued in reaching this decision.

In the end I learned – to my great pleasure – that we live in a community where strong opposing ideals can share the same space, where we can hold discussions with coolness as well as with heat, and where consideration and thoughtfulness regarding others is a strongly held value. My faith in all things related to RIT/NTID was reconfirmed throughout this process and in the final decision.

You each have my great thanks for your participation in our deliberations and for your advice on this issue.

Alan

T. Alan Hurwitz, Ed.D.
President, NTID
Vice President and Dean, RIT
Rochester Institute of Technology
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
52 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, New York 14623-5604