Washington — When Dr. Todd Pagano read the lengthy job description for a chemistry professor position at Rochester Institute of Technology back in 2002, he was thrilled that he met all of the qualifications until he got to the last line.
The candidate, he said, had to know sign language, which Pagano, who was nearing the end of his doctoral studies, didn’t know.
But rather than pass up the teaching position at RIT because he didn’t know how to sign, Pagano took on the challenge of learning to communicate with the deaf.
Administrators at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RIT saw his passion and commitment and brought Pagano on board to teach while he became versed in sign language. Within three months, he was teaching his own chemistry course to deaf and hard-of-hearing students without the aid of an interpreter.
Pagano, who went on to establish the Laboratory Science Technology Program at the National Institute for the Deaf, was honored at the National Press Club Thursday as one of four U.S. Professors of the Year. Pagano was recognized as Outstanding Master’s Universities and Colleges Professor of the Year.
The award — now in its 23rd year — is given annually by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE.
Pagano says he takes satisfaction from knowing that he is able to serve as a bridge between deaf and hard-of-hearing students and the world of work in the field of chemistry, which they might not otherwise be able to enter.