Back in February, Kimi Anderson '08 was distressed. She had started her second semester of American Sign Language when she found out that the University had decided to make significant cutbacks to the program the following year.
"I was really upset," Anderson said. "I had taken the first two ASL classes and was looking forward to the next two."
Limited by a part-time staff and lacking the resources of a full department, the ASL program was to be transferred to the Continuing Studies program. There, students would have to pay a fee to take ASL classes, which would no longer count towards University credit. But after weeks of vehement student protest, the University reversed its decision and decided to keep, and even expand, ASL as a for-credit program.
The Center for Language Studies started a search for a full-time professor in mid-June. The adjunct lecturers who had previously taught ASL at Brown were invited to apply, but the committee ultimately settled on Arkady Belozovsky, a professor from the University of New Hampshire at Manchester.
Like last year, CLS will offer four ASL classes - SI 10, 20, 30 and 40. But unlike last year, the classes will meet for four to five hours a week.
"I think it's awesome," Anderson said as she waited for SI30: "Intermediate American Sign Language I" to begin its first class. "I love the class. ... If they offered a sign language major, I would definitely double major with it."
The Academic Priorities Committee, which makes curricular recommendations at Brown, decided in February to transfer the ASL program to Continuing Studies. But after ASL supporters met with Provost Robert Zimmer, he requested a faculty report on ASL's relevance to the University. The report found ASL to be important to the curriculum, and in late May Zimmer decided not only to keep ASL, but also to commit more funds to the program.
Merle Krueger, associate director of CLS, said the priorities committee based its decision to cut back ASL on several deficiencies in the program. At the time, ASL studies lacked a full-time faculty member, a departmental home and application towards a concentration or study abroad programs. Also, the classes met for only three hours a week, while other language classes at the University met for four or five hours a week.
"We have felt all along that if ASL is offered at Brown, then we should offer a quality program or no program at all," Krueger said.
Though the issues of meeting hours and a full-time professor have been addressed, Krueger said it is unlikely that there will be an ASL department or concentration any time soon. But he expressed optimism about the University's support for sign language studies and did not rule out future expansion.
"This is a big step right now; this represents a big commitment from the University to keep ASL as a bona fide second language program," he said. "The future expansion of the program will greatly depend on student demand and the degree to which faculty and students will see a need for an expanded program."
If it were up to Belozovsky, however, he would start offering an ASL concentration immediately.
"I will work with the Center for Language Studies to expand (the program) so there are ASL and Deaf studies programs so people can major in them. ... I have a curriculum already," Belozovsky, who is deaf, said through an interpreter.
Krueger said Belozovsky was the CLS's first choice to be the full-time ASL professor.
"He is a wonderful, energetic person and has wonderful qualifications," Krueger said.
Though he has only been with the school briefly, Belozovsky said the experience has "been fabulous."
"The students have great attention and diverse majors and are interested in ASL," he said. "Some are here to learn more about the Deaf community. For the most part I would say I'm impressed."
