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Department History
Deaf Studies
The program in Deaf Education at CSUF began with several students in the Fall of 1969. A temporary coordinator organized the program and taught all the classes the first year. In September of 1970, the first program director was hired. At that time, there were about ten student majors in the program. One full-time faculty position was added in the fall of 1971, and another in the Fall of 1972 to bring the full-time Deaf Education faculty to a total of three positions. Part-time faculty have been added as needed. The Deaf Education program received its first Council on Education of the Deaf accreditation approval in the Fall of 1972. It also received federal financial support for ten years (1971 through 1981). Since 1981, our program has been supported exclusively by general university funds and has chosen not to rely on soft money for ongoing support.
Student enrollment grew from ten in 1970 to approximately 95 undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in the program. The original program director remained in her position until 1998 when she retired and the current director Dr. Paul Ogden assumed the position.
Several changes in the program were implemented in the Fall of 1997. At that time the undergraduate program in our department was reorganized and renamed. The department then had four undergraduate options: Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, Sign Language Studies, and Deaf Education. Beginning in the fall of 2000 the Sign Language Studies option was changed to Interpreting. The addition of Interpreting to our undergraduate curriculum has made several more Sign Language courses available to our Deaf Education students. The Deaf Studies program is adding a new degree option in American Sign Language Instruction to begin in 2007.