CENTRAL INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF
AND PACS HOLD DUAL COMMENCEMENT

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, May 20, 2005 – In keeping with a longstanding tradition, the Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) school and the Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences (PACS) at CID at Washington University School of Medicine* held a dual commencement ceremony on Friday, May 20, 2005. Four hearing-impaired children ages 4–9 and nine adult candidates —  six for master’s degrees in deaf education, one for a master’s degree in audiology, and two for doctoral degrees in communication sciences — took part in a commencement ceremony on the same stage at Cori Auditorium in the McDonnell Science Building, Washington University School of Medicine.

Presented by CID executive director Robin M. Feder, MS, CFRE, and CID Oral School principal JoEllen B. Epstein, MAEd, CED, each child gave a short speech or read a poem.  William W. Clark, PhD, director of the PACS program, presented the Washington University graduates. Thomas Jayne, a senior partner and practice area leader at Thompson Coburn LLP and president of CID’s board of managers, also participated in the ceremony. The dual graduation is a longstanding tradition of CID and its affiliated Washington University graduate degree educational programs.

The CID school graduates who are candidates for elementary school are:

·       RYAN S., 4, of St. Charles (63304), a three-year CID student, will attend kindergarten at Family Academy Charter School in St. Paul, Minn. in the fall. The Schmidts moved to St. Charles from Columbus in May  2002 so Ryan could attend the CID preschool-kindergarten. 

·       DAVID L., 8, of St. Louis (63136), a five-year CID student, will attend LeMasters Elementary School with his brother in the fall. David has an outgoing personality and a great sense of humor. 

·       ARDIAN P., 9, of St. Louis  (63116), a five-year CID student, will attend a St. Louis Magnet School in the fall. Ardian is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence and has made outstanding progress in learning speech and language despite hearing little English spoken at home.

·      WHITNEY G., 9,  of Marble Hill, Missouri (63764), a five-year CID student, will attend third grade at Woodland Elementary School in Marble Hill in the fall. Whitney has spent part of this year at Woodland, where she enjoys spelling and playing soccer.

The graduate degree recipients from the CID at Washington University School of Medicine Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences are:

·       Master of Science in Deaf Education: Bethany Lyn Gehrlein, Raquel Schumacher Marrah, Laura Elizabeth Saia, Amanda Ruth Shinall, Susan Corine Theobald and Dena Michele Witkin

·       Master of Science in Speech and Hearing – Audiology: Jaime L. Carmody

·       Doctor of Philosophy in Speech and Hearing Sciences: Brent P. Spehar and Lora Maureen Valente

Founded in 1914, Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) is located at the southernmost tip of the Washington University Medical Center complex within the city of St. Louis. The CID auditory-oral school is where deaf and hearing-impaired children from birth to age 12 learn to listen, talk and achieve literacy without the use of sign language. CID also has an outreach center, which offers mainstreaming assistance for deaf and hearing-impaired students, continuing education for professionals, consultation and training for schools starting oral education programs for deaf children, and educational tools used to help deaf children in all 50 states, all provinces of Canada, six provinces of Australia and 33 countries. 

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*Formerly the CID-based Washington University Department of Speech and Hearing,  the Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences has been fiscally separate from CID and a CID at Washington University School of Medicine program since September of 2003.