A tribute to Jennifer L. Gravitz

During the Deaf Awareness Month last month, I pondered about deaf-related experiences that I could write about. It hit me that I need to share about the teachers, the ultimate role models.

I never really thought in depth about what makes someone the BEST teacher, other than someone who would go out of their way for students, care about them, etc. In my 2nd year at Rochester Institute of Technology, I walked into the criminal justice department to transfer into their program, at that time I was a photography major (I know, I know… the irony of this NOW). I met Professor Jennifer L. Gravitz. She became my advisor. I had no idea at the time how much she’d change my life.

Gravitz was not just a professor at RIT, but also a lawyer and [female!] rabbi! And probably more jobs that I wasn’t aware of. She spent a lot of time advocating for the Deaf community. At RIT she taught several criminal justice courses such as Concept in Criminal Law, Computer Crime, Cyber Law, etc. I took ALL of the classes with her.

What made her the ULTIMATE teacher? The way she taught her classes… using sign language and verbally talking. The classes were mainstreamed so at most there would be 5-8 deaf students per class. Gravitz included the deaf students. I never felt ‘different’ in her classes. There were interpreters to voice for the deaf students so the others could understand what was being said.

I took Concept in Criminal Law with another professor. Halfway through, I ended up having to drop because I was struggling in the class. I decided to try it with another professor. Gravitz provided that accessibility and understanding for the deaf community. She gave us time to understand concepts in her classes. She was willing to provide extra time outside of classes if we needed. She truly cared about us!

I forgot to mention, she is hearing. I’m not sure if this is correct, but it’s been said she was an interpreter at one point. She was one of the biggest advocates for the Deaf community in Rochester, NY. Gravitz was truly one of kind at RIT - it was very rare for hearing professors to provid that level of accessibility in their classes. How many hearing professors would be as accepting of the large deaf population at RIT and work so hard to learn ASL to provide 100% accessibility? That is the ultimate professor anyone could be.

I was never the student to participate in classes until Gravitz’s classes. I felt so comfortable. I spoke up. I asked questions. I talked a lot! I felt seen in her class. I also felt that Gravitz’s approach influenced the hearing students to be accepting as well. I felt that I was able to make many friends from her classes.

One example of how understanding Gravitz was in regards of deaf needs - she had patience. That’s an important trait to have especially when you’re around deaf people. An example of Gravitz’s patience is when she’d give breaks during classes. The breaks were for the C-print team, because they needed to switch. Back up first, C-print is an accommodation for students who aren’t fluent in ASL and prefer to read captions via computer screen. The typists, usually in teams of two would switch after specific amount of time. Gravitz gave that pause so none of us would miss a word. That wasn’t common practice at RIT, as professors would continue to talk during the switch and students missed out on that 5-10 minutes window.

So again, this is another reason why Gravitz was that ultimate teacher role model, she had that knowledge of what the needs were for the deaf community. It really showed that she truly cared for us. I am blessed to have that experience of being in her classes as well having her as my advisor.

And as my wedding officiant. She married my husband and I in 2015. I also spent more time with Gravitz when I started dating my husband who is Jewish. Gravitz is a Rabbi herself, she ran many events with RIT Hillel Club. Again, she made those events very accessible! I was able to learn a lot about Judaism because of her. One of my fondest memories is my first Passover, we celebrated with her and several other Deaf students. Gravitz also made her teaching personable by incorporating personal stories. Those have stuck in my mind, so now during Passovers I always think of her and her stories.

As soon my husband and I got engaged, I knew I needed to have her to officiant our wedding! She was one of the first priorities we focused on when we started the wedding planning. I was thrilled that she was able to officiant, especially when we got married on a high holiday weekend (Rosh Hashanah)! Gravitz truly made our wedding ceremony so special. She blended both of us so perfectly, made it accessible for both of us and her humor! I’m so, so fortunate that she was a part of our special day.

In memory of Jennifer L. Gravitz, who passed away in January 2020 after a courage battle with breast cancer.