TROY – When Troy University students return to school in the fall, a new College of Education program will be waiting for them.

The University’s Interpreter Training Program, announced last November, was officially approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in its March meeting and classes in the specialty area will begin in the fall, according to Dr. Lance Tatum, dean of the College of Education.

The 120 semester-hour program will lead to a bachelor of science in interpreter training degree, and addresses what Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. calls a crisis in the deaf community. TROY, in partnership with Alabama Department of Education, which issued at $250,000 grant to TROY last October, created the Interpreter Training Program to increase the number of both community and education interpreters for the deaf in the state.

“I think this partnership will have a great impact on the quality of life and educational opportunities that our deaf citizens enjoy. TROY is worldwide in nature, but our service begins at home and that service begins by us addressing on a regular basis the needs that need to be met in order to improve the education and quality of life for all our citizens,” Dr. Hawkins said in an October 2007 announcement of the grant award. Dr. Hawkins lead the Alabama Institute for the Blind and Deaf as president for 10 years before taking over the reins of the University.

Dr. Tatum said that people interested in pursing the degree should contact the University’s Admissions Office at 800-551-9716 or the College of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Teaching at 334-670-3546. Beginning July 1, applications for scholarships will be accepted for the program, which will be taught in-classroom on the Troy Campus or online through the University’s eCampus.

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