CENTRAL INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF AND WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE FORM NEW AFFILIATION
Announced September 2003, finalized February 2004 

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, Sept. 18, 2003 — An alliance that began as a trusted handshake in 1931 has become a formal affiliation. After decades of working together, Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) — one of the leading education and research centers for hearing disorders in the world — has entered into an historic agreement with Washington University, its School of Medicine and Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Under the terms of the agreement, Washington University School of Medicine has assumed ownership and governance of a portion of CID's programs, including its deafness research, adult clinical care and advanced degree programs, and thereby will continue to advance the institute's mission to help people with hearing loss. The CID Oral School and Outreach Center will continue as an independent entity.

“This new level of partnership with Central Institute for the Deaf reaffirms Washington University's commitment to biomedical research in hearing, clinical care for those with hearing impairment, and graduate-level education of future specialists in audiology, deaf education, and speech and hearing sciences," said Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University. The transferred programs have become part of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, under the direction of Richard A. Chole, MD, PhD, the Lindburg Professor and chair of the department.

Washington University has one of the largest and most highly ranked otolaryngology departments. It currently ranks No.4 in National Institutes of Health funding to otolaryngology departments nationwide. 

The internationally acclaimed CID Oral School for deaf children, including its Joanne Parrish Knight Family Center and the CID Outreach Center, will remain a financially independent entity. The CID Oral School provides education and clinical services for deaf and hearing-impaired children and their families from birth to age 12. The Outreach Center offers mainstreaming assistance, continuing deaf education workshops, evaluations and curricula to help deaf and hearing-impaired children worldwide.

The CID school also will refocus its pediatric audiology program and continue to provide faculty and practicum sites for both audiology and deaf education programs at Washington University School of Medicine. CID school plans also include expanded programs to address the issue of early literacy in deaf children.

The new agreement between CID and Washington University involves an exchange and leaseback of real estate valued at $32 million, with CID and Washington University programs both utilizing the Central Institute for the Deaf campus facilities at 4560 Clayton Ave. in the Washington University Medical Center. Under the agreement, CID will sell the majority of its real estate assets to Washington University at fair market value and Washington University will assume CID's bond indebtedness. CID will then leaseback the school portion of the campus. The CID residence hall will be transferred to the University at the end of the 2003-2004 school year.

Washington University's Department of Otolarygology-Head and Neck Surgery will assume and continue the research programs in the Harold W. Siebens Hearing Research Center, which houses the Fay and Carl Simons Center for Biology of Hearing and Deafness and the Center for Childhood Deafness and Adult Aural Rehabilitation.

The Spencer T. Olin Hearing Clinic for adults will also remain on the CID campus but as a new part of the Department of Otolaryngology's Division of Adult Audiology, which also operates locations in the Center for Advanced Medicine at the intersection of Euclid and Forest Park avenues, and at 605 Old Ballas Road. These three clinical centers will continue to provide complete audiological testing and hearing aid fittings. Washington University also will manage the academic programs providing graduate education in audiology, deaf education, and speech and hearing sciences through the newly established Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences (PACS) within the School of Medicine.

According to the agreement, these transferred and expanded research, clinical and graduate degree educational programs now operated by the University in affiliation with CID will be called "CID at Washington University School of Medicine."
 
"The affiliation will strengthen both institutions and create an international powerhouse in the field of hearing and deafness," says Larry Shapiro, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. "CID's renowned reputation will strengthen the medical school as a whole."

"The alliance enables Central Institute for the Deaf to expand its work and mission in an exponential way, taking advantage of the clout and reputation of one of the nation's finest medical research programs," adds CID executive director Robert G. Clark. "Meanwhile, the CID oral school and outreach programs will focus and expand on what we do best, continuing to set the standard of excellence for helping deaf and hearing-impaired children and their families and continuing to serve as an important resource for professionals throughout the world."

Central Institute for the Deaf was founded primarily as a school for deaf children and teacher education center in 1914 and for decades, beginning in the 1930s, played an important role in the development of audiology as a science and a profession. Today, it is a recognized world leader in oral deaf education, both applied and biological research and professional education. The school specializes in teaching deaf children to listen, talk and achieve literacy, with most of its graduates consistently achieving at or above grade level academically and many pursuing higher education and professional careers. Alumni of CID's graduate programs in deaf education are teachers and principals in oral deaf schools throughout the world. Its audiology program has been consistently ranked among the nation's Top 10 by U.S. News and World Report. CID-developed evaluations and curricula are used to help deaf and hearing-impaired children worldwide. In recent years, CID research scientists have been awarded 15 grants from the National Institutes of Health and NASA.

Established in 1891, Washington University School of Medicine is considered among the top three medical schools in the country, known for providing excellence in research, teaching and patient care. The medical school receives more than $375 million a year in grants and contracts to support its research efforts. It offers numerous degree programs, including M.D. and Ph.D. degrees as well as degrees in biomedical engineering, health administration, physical therapy and occupational therapy. The school's medical faculty are the physicians and surgeons of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals.