On June 8, NTID President Caroline Solomon and RIT Provost and Senior Vice President Prabu David announced the appointment of Dr. Flavia S. Fleischer as NTID’s new dean. This announcement concluded a several-month-long search. Dr. Fleischer will succeed the current interim dean, Gary Behm, who will be retiring. Dr. Fleischer starts her term on Aug.1, 2026.
Dr. Fleischer is a California native and comes from a large Deaf family which spans four generations. She is not a stranger to New York.
Dr. Fleisher shared in an email, “Fortunately, I am already very familiar with New York State and have spent considerable time in the Adirondacks. In fact, I am an Adirondack 46er, having climbed all 46 High Peaks over 4,000 feet.”
She visited NTID in 2015 as part of the college’s ASL Lecture Series, where she presented on America’s image of Deaf people through newspaper articles on cochlear implantations.
Dr. Fleischer comes into her position with years of experience in higher education. She will be leaving her position as chair and professor of the Department of Deaf Studies at California State University, Northridge. She has experience chairing and coordinating departments at Utah Valley University, the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California and Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California. She also holds doctoral and master’s degrees in ASL linguistics from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in linguistics, Deaf culture and special education from California State University, Northridge and a bachelor’s degree in history from Gallaudet University.
Dr. Fleischer noted the impact that NTID has on opportunities for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, stating, “I strongly believe in the power of mentorship for students, staff, and faculty, and I believe higher education is at its best when it values and builds upon the knowledge, experiences, and assets that diverse communities bring with them. By leveraging those strengths, NTID can continue to be a leader in academics, research, innovation, and community engagement while elevating and celebrating the richness of Deaf communities.”
Dr. Fleischer also boasts several accomplishments, including several publications on Deaf education, a position as a current co-principal investigator on a $1.25 million grant on preparing a pipeline for educators of the Deaf and a vice presidency of the California Association of the Deaf. Dr. Fleischer is currently rated five out of five on the RateMyProfessors website.
“I want students to know that my door will always be open, and I look forward to learning from them as much as they learn from us,” said Dr. Fleischer.
She is the first woman to assume the position of dean of NTID. For the first time in NTID’s history, both the president and the dean are women.
“It feels both exciting and humbling,” shared Dr. Fleischer, “While I don’t see myself simply as the first, I do hope I won’t be the last. More importantly, I look forward to creating a space where everyone has equitable opportunities to assume leadership positions.”
Dr. Fleischer emphasized how excited she is to work alongside Dr. Solomon. “Together, we have an opportunity to build on NTID’s incredible legacy while continuing to create opportunities for future generations of NTID students.”
