President's WELCOME

I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to the Association of College Educators for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACE-DHH) conference in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada! 

You are part of nearly 200 participants who have come to celebrate 50 years of ACE-DHH!  

Prior to 1974, this group met as a special interest group under the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD). In 1974, the Association of College Educators for the Hearing Impaired (ACEHI) met in Knoxville, Tennessee under the leadership of Lee Murphy. 

In the span of 50 years, university educators, students, vocational rehabilitation counselors, K-12 teachers, and parents have gathered together in countless places to discuss the complexities of educating post-secondary deaf students. We became an international conference when we hosted the conference in Canada. 

We have seen many programs established, shut down, re-established, and grow over the past 50 years. 

Deaf and Hard of Hearing education has continued to grow and evolve with innovative teaching strategies, curriculum changes, and growth in research on deaf education. We still have a long way to go, and I look forward to the next 50 years with you all as my colleagues.

I want to remind you all of our theme this year, which is Elevate, Empower, and Engage. 

I challenge you to elevate our conversations to the next level, to empower our future college graduates and discuss how we can engage more people in the dialogue for the improvement of deaf education at the post-secondary level. 

I want to recognize my amazing board, for they have been working diligently to ensure we have a fantastic line-up for you in Las Vegas. 

I am also humbled to announce that we will be presenting the renamed Jon Henner Early Career award in recognition of one of our friends and amazing researcher, Jon Henner who valiantly fought his battle with cancer until this past August. He has left a legacy in his work, and we will miss him. 

Please work hard during the day, and socialize at night with everyone- we don’t often get time to support each other in both work and fun.

Patrick J. Graham