American Sign Language Coordinator

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The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the historic heart of Harvard University. It is the home of Harvard’s undergraduate program (Harvard College, founded in 1636) as well as all of Harvard’s Ph.D. programs (the Harvard Kenneth

C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1872), Harvard Athletics and the Division of Continuing Education. The 40 academic departments and 30+ centers of the FAS support a community unparalleled in its academic excellence across the broadest range of liberal arts and sciences disciplines. Together, the FAS seeks to foster an environment of ambition, curiosity and shared commitment to knowledge and truth that elicits excellence from all members of our community and prepares the next generation of leaders through a transformative educational experience.

Situated within the Department of Linguistics, the American Sign Language (ASL) Program is a small but vibrant academic program that encompasses language instruction, research, educational programming, and community engagement activities. The program supports a diverse community of deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students, faculty, and staff and is committed to advancing excellence in ASL education and accessibility.

The Department of Linguistics seeks a full-time American Sign Language (ASL) Coordinator to support the accessibility, instructional, and programmatic needs of the ASL Program. Reporting to departmental leadership, the ASL Coordinator serves as the primary resource for coordinating and providing interpreting services for deaf and/or hard-of-hearing faculty, staff, and students.

This position is responsible for assessing interpreting needs across a range of academic, administrative, and programmatic activities; providing direct interpretation services when appropriate; and coordinating external interpreting resources for specialized or simultaneous assignments. The Coordinator will work closely with faculty, students, staff, and contracted interpreters to ensure effective communication access across the department.

In addition to accessibility coordination, the ASL Coordinator will contribute to the administration and ongoing success of the ASL Program through support of course planning, enrollment management, placement activities, and other program initiatives.

• Provide signed language interpretation for deaf and/or hard-of-hearing faculty, staff, and students in classrooms, meetings, academic events, and other university-related settings.
• Deliver ad hoc interpreting services.
• Assess communication access needs and determine appropriate interpreting coverage for academic and departmental activities.
• Coordinate and schedule additional ASL interpreters for courses, research meetings, academic presentations, conferences, special events, and other activities requiring communication access.
• Facilitate communication between requestors, participants, and interpreters to ensure successful service delivery.
• Oversee interpreter preparation by securing and distributing relevant course materials and event information in advance of assignments.
• Educate faculty, staff, and students on interpreter roles, best practices for working with interpreters, and communication accessibility.

• Recruit, maintain, and coordinate a pool of qualified ASL interpreters.
• Manage interpreter scheduling and assignment logistics.
• Process and track invoices for contracted interpreting services.
• Monitor utilization data and maintain records to support budgeting, reporting, and program planning.
• Assist in evaluating interpreting needs and identifying opportunities for service improvements.

• Support the administration of the ASL Program, including…