Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet crossed the Atlantic from Paris, France, in 1816  to open the country’s first school for the deaf. In 1864, with the support of Congress and President Abraham Lincoln, they extended their vision with Gallaudet University. Gallaudet became a beacon for visual learning, visual language, social justice, and full rights for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Since then, we have proceeded to become the Gallaudet University that even President Abraham Lincoln could not have imagined. Today, Gallaudet is the go-to source on the deaf and signing community — a rich source of history, knowledge, achievement, and inspiration. But we are even more than that. Gallaudet is a global agent of change— a hub of the signing ecosystem, preparing students to flourish, and helping society value and appreciate all that deaf people have to offer. Our Gallaudet community hails from all 50 states and nearly 100 countries. We have 23,000 alumni worldwide. We’re a university that teaches and transforms unlike anywhere else.