Troy University’s Interpreter Training program is partnering with the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind (AIDB) and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services to host a free professional development conference for educators of students who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind.

The Seeking Options to Add Rigor (SOAR) Conference will be held July 25-27 on the Troy Campus and will include a variety of workshop sessions presented by faculty and personnel from the University of Montevallo, the Center for Assistive Technology at AIDB, the NTID Regional STEM Center at AIDB, the E.H. Gentry Technical Facility and the Alabama Initiative for Children and Youth who are Deaf-Blind, among others.

Troy University Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. will provide the keynote address during the conference’s opening dinner, beginning at 5 p.m. on Sunday in the Stadium Club, located on the fourth floor of the Stadium Towers at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The conference is funded through the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB), the world’s most comprehensive education, rehabilitation and service program serving individuals of all ages who are deaf, blind, deaf-blind and multi-disabled. Founded in 1858 by a young medical doctor who wanted to educate his deaf brother, AIDB now serves more than 30,000 infants, toddlers, children, adults and seniors with hearing and vision loss throughout Alabama each year. 

In Talladega, AIDB has six campuses: Alabama School for the Deaf, Alabama School for the Blind, Alabama Industries for the Blind, Helen Keller School, E.H. Gentry Facility and Marianna Greene Henry (MGH) Special Equestrian Arena. AIDB also has nine regional centers located in Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Opelika, Talladega, Tuscaloosa and Tuscumbia, which extend the program offerings throughout the state.

Created by the Alabama Legislature in 1994, the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS) is the state agency that serves Alabamians with disabilities, helping to enable them to reach their maximum potential. The department’s continuum-of-care approach means that support and resources are available to Alabamians with disabilities at every stage of life. Find out more at rehab.alabama.gov.