Center for Deaf Studies and Special Services at Ohlone College

Welcome!

The Center for Deaf Studies and Special Services is proud to have one of the largest and most comprehensive programs in the West designed to meet the academic and vocational needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students.

Ohlone College was created in 1967 to serve members of the Fremont Community. In 1972, the Ohlone College Center for Deaf Studies and Special Services was established when the College opened its doors to 30 Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. The population changes each semester and the Center for Deaf Studies has grown and has served up to 200 Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in a single year.

The Center for Deaf Studies is designed to open doors to educational and occupational opportunities for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.

Our primary purpose is to provide an opportunity for all individuals to gain maximum benefit from their educational experience. Ohlone College encourages Deaf and Hard of Hearing students to participate with their peers in the same activities and courses.

Special services are provided to meet the unique needs of Deaf, Hard of Hearing , and Disabled students and help them achieve a successful college career.

Contact us with any questions you may have.

Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) is part of the Deaf Studies and Special Services Division.

The Deaf Studies and Special Services Division at Ohlone College was formerly referred to as the "Ohlone College Deaf Center" or the "Deaf Center."

In the News

• Genie Gertz leads workshop: Teenagers discuss ‘deafhood’ - Northwest: Students from Washington, Oregon not defined by lack of hearing, The News Tribune, May 20, 2009 - '"Instead of looking at what deaf people can't do, we need to look at ourselves as people who are visual, and who have a community," deaf poet and educator Ella Mae Lentz signed through an interpreter. "We need to look at ourselves in a very positive view to confirm who we are as deaf individuals." Lentz and Genie Gertz, dean of the Center for Deaf Studies and Special Services at Ohlone College in Fremont, Calif., have led workshops for deaf adults around the country since 2005. Deafhood Youth Northwest on Tuesday at Mount Tahoma was their first presentation tailored to teenagers.'
• Genie Gertz: a new vision for the center, Monitor, September 11, 2008
• Sorenson Communications Partners with Ohlone College to Provide Real-World Mentoring and Web-Based Interpreter Training: Partnership Broadens Training Experiences to Address Interpreter Shortage - Press release: Sorenson Communication, December 3, 2007 -"Sorenson Communications™, the leading provider of Video Relay Services (VRS) for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL), today announced a partnership with Ohlone College, in Fremont, California, to provide a deaf language mentorship program for Ohlone students and to jointly utilize Ohlone's Web-based training system, WebCT, to provide a more extensive training experience for interpreters working for Sorenson VRS (SVRS)."