Special thanks to the NTID Office of the President, past NTID President Dr. Gerard Buckley, the External Affairs Department, Dr. Emily Sherwood, University Librarian, and Elizabeth Call, University Archivist, for their generous support of the NTID and RIT Museum exhibits.
Thanks to our NTID/RIT students, faculty, and staff for exploring Panara's collections and recommending selections for the following exhibits! The following individuals participated: retired Professor John Panara, Professor Denise Kavin (Leadership in the Deaf Community), Professor Pamela Conley (Visual Expressions of Deaf Culture & Writing Seminar classes), Professor Deirdre Schlehofer (Women and the Deaf Community), Professor Robyn Dean (Interpreting classes), and Professor John Monaco (Museum 241). Special thanks to community member and alumna, Stacy Lawrence, for her assistance with the final compilation of the digitized videos featured in the exhibits. Tours and follow-up classes are available for these exhibits. Contact Dr. Joan Naturale for more information.
RIT Museum Exhibit-Hands in Motion: Celebrating Robert F. Panara (1920-2014)
Opens from September 2025 to May 2026 on the 3rd floor of the RIT Libraries. The kick-off reception is scheduled for Thursday, September 11, 2025, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Elizabeth Call, Archivist; Joan Naturale, NTID & Deaf Studies Archives Liaison Librarian; Bernard Hurwitz, Associate Vice President for NTID Administration; and John Panara, retired NTID faculty member and son, will make comments.
Explore Panara's contributions in Deaf Education, Theatre, Deaf Studies, Literature, Poetry, Film Studies, and Baseball.
Poster description: The poster background is white, featuring rows of wavy colored lines in red, blue, yellow, and green that run across the top and bottom edges.
At the center, large bold dark blue text reads:
“Hands in Motion: Celebrating Robert F. Panara (1920–2014)”
Below this, smaller text states:
September 2025 – May 2026
Wallace Library, 3rd floor
In bold dark blue it highlights:
Opening Reception: September 11 from 2–4 pm
On the lower right, there is a black-and-white photograph of Robert Panara speaking at a podium. He is wearing a suit and tie, with his right hand raised in a signing gesture. His figure is outlined in yellow.
At the bottom left, the logos for RIT Archives and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf are shown.
Dyer Arts Center at Williams Gallery- A Fearless Trailblazer: Dr. Robert F. Panara
Opens Friday, June 27, 2025, and runs through Friday, September 19, 2025. The closing reception is scheduled for Friday, September 19, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The Dyer Arts team, comprising Marissa Woodruff, Amara Engle, and Lauren Eddy, collaborated with community member and alumna Stacy Lawrence, NTID & Deaf Studies Archives Liaison Joan Naturale, and student assistant Jordan Leach to curate these exhibits. The exhibit catalog, which includes suggested research topics and activities, is now available.
Poster Description: The poster background is bright blue with abstract wave-like yellow and dark blue patterns along the top and bottom edges. On the left side, a black-and-white photograph of Dr. Robert F. Panara is displayed, speaking at a podium and raising his right hand in a gesture. His figure is outlined in yellow.
Large bold white text at the top reads: “A Fearless Trailblazer: Dr. Robert F. Panara”
Event details are listed in smaller white text on the right: View the Dyer exhibit catalog with suggested research topics and activities.
Additional highlighted text reads:
Closing reception
September 19, 4:30–6:30 pm
At the bottom, the RIT Dyer Arts Center logo is displayed.
RIT ASL and Deaf Studies Community Center (RADSCC, 1st floor library) Lounge Wall Exhibit - The Deaf Beat Summit: An Explosion of ASL Poetry
Special thanks to Professor Pamela Conley and her Writing Seminar class for their contributions to this exhibit, which includes the papers they wrote, which are available for review.
The exhibit is open from July 2025 to May 2026 and is available for viewing at any time.
Learn more about the birth of the ASL Poetry movement in which NTID played a pivotal role. Jim Cohn, an interpreting student and friend of Allen Ginsberg, coordinated the Deaf-Beat Summit and the ASL Poetry conference. Allen Ginsberg and Dr. Robert F. Panara performed their poetry at the Deaf-Beat Summit (1984), discussing the importance of the 'image' in their works. The first ASL Poetry conference took place in 1987, featuring five talented ASL poets: Peter Cook, Patrick Graybill, Ella Mae Lentz, Debbie Rennie, and Clayton Valli. The exhibit catalog, which includes suggested research topics and questions, is now available.
Poster description: The background of the poster is bright yellow, with rows of wavy patterns in blue and white at the top and bottom edges.
At the top, large bold purple text reads:
“The Deaf Beat Summit: An Explosion of ASL Poetry.”
Below in smaller text:
September 2025 – May 2026
RIT ASL and Deaf Studies Community Center (RADSCC), Wallace Library, 1st floor
On the lower right, a black-and-white photograph of a smiling man in a short-sleeved shirt is displayed. He is gesturing with his hands, as if signing. His figure is outlined in blue.
At the bottom left, the logos for RIT and NTID ASL–Deaf Studies Community Center are displayed.
Tours and follow-up classes are available for these exhibits. Contact Dr. Joan Naturale for more information.
Use of RIT resources is reserved for current RIT students, faculty
and staff for academic and teaching purposes only.
Please contact your librarian with any questions.
