1. Findings and Discussion
Black Faculty Matters: Are There Enough Black Faculty in Interpreter Education Programs?
Paris McTizic, INT 492 Seminar Project & Portfolio , Spring 2017
Introduction
Methods and Materials
Findings and Discussion
The focal point of this study is to reveal the number of Black faculty in interpreter education programs across the United States.
Eighteen Bachelor’s level interpreter education program websites were randomly selected.
The websites were organized in alphabetical order in a spreadsheet.
Searched for the faculty page.
From the faculty page’s photos, the researcher determined those who appeared to be Black faculty and then used Google to validate the determination by checking a) if they are involved or a member of the National Alliance of Black interpreters (NAOBI); and b) what publications there relating to their involvement in the Deaf/hearing Black community.
Of the 18 IEPs, 121 appeared to be Non-Black and 5 appeared to be Black.
We can see that Non-Black faculty far outnumber Black faculty (96% to 4%).
Literature Review
Limitations
Jackie Bruce (1998) reported statistics of the ethnicity of IEP graduates:
90% - Anglo / Euro-American
4% - African American
5% - Hispanic American
Programs across the nation are in dire need of recruiting interpreters from various cultural backgrounds.
Erica West Oyedele (2015) stated African American/Black students’ need to connect with faculty of color for both career and psychosocial benefits.
Cokely and Schafer (2016) conducted surveys and found that there is a need of cultural competency for IEP faculty and for hiring faculty from diverse backgrounds. 
Lack of faculty images on several websites
Some websites were not up-to-date
Some of faculty information were not differentiated clearly on whether they were full-time, part-time, or adjunct.
A few websites titled “Faculty” included both faculty and staff.
Figure 1. BA Interpreting Education Programs
Colleges/Universities
Black Faculty
Yes/No
# of Black faculty
# of Non-Black faculty
Website
Augustana University No 2
Bethel College 5
Bloomsburg University 4
Columbia College
Yes 12
Eastern Kentucky University 17
Gallaudet University 11
Goshen College 3
Keuka College
Northeastern University 6
Rochester Institute of Technology/ NTID 1 16
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
University of Houston
University of New Hampshire at Manchester
University of New Mexico
University of Northern Colorado 15
Valdosta State University
William Woods University
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee 7
Total: 5
Total: 121
Recommendations
Conduct an in-depth study of IEP programs at the associate, bachelor, and master levels with program directors.
Conclusions
As the research showed, there is approximately 4% of faculty appearing Black in IEPs in the United States. There is a lack of Black faculty and it is important to recognize the current state of how many Black faculties are in IEP’s and where they are located.
References
Contact Information
Acknowledgements
Bruce, J. (1998). Assisting African American/Black ASL/IPP students navigate between learning in the classroom and learning outside the classroom. In The keys to highly effective interpreter training: Proceedings of the Twelfth National Convention (pp. 1-18).
Cokely, D., & Schafer, T. (2016). Understanding the challenges of interpreters of color-National Interpreter Education Center. UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES OF INTERPRETERS OF COLOR. Retrieved February 28, 2017, from
Milner IV, H. R. (2006). The promise of Black teachers' success with Black students. The Journal of Educational Foundations, 20(3/4), 89.
Pang,V.O.,&Gibson,R.(2001).Conceptsofdemocracyandcitizenship:ViewsofAfrican American teachers. The Social Studies, 92(6),
Population estimates, July 1, 2016, (V2016). (n.d.). Retrieved April 06, 2017, from
 RID 2016 Annual Report. (n.d.). Retrieved April 06, 2017, from
West Oyedele, E. (2015). Persistence of African-American/Black signed language interpreters in the United States: The importance of culture and capital.
I would like to thank all of my colleagues, friends, and family. I personally want to thank Rodney Lebon for going through this journey together with all of the obstacles we have faced. Thank you to Felicia Williams and Laura Willey-Saunders for believing in me and teaching me the essence of Deaf culture. Thank you to my NAOBI-DC family for always having my back. Thank you to Dr. Leandra Williams for helping me carve out this wonderful research topic. Thank you to Rafael Treviño for giving me foundational knowledge of what it means to be an interpreter. Most importantly, thank you to my family for supporting my dreams no matter what.
Paris McTizic
Gallaudet University, BAI