MONMOUTH, Ore.— Western Oregon University is marking a milestone five decades in the making. This year, the university’s American Sign Language/English Interpreting program celebrated its 50th anniversary, cementing its place as one of the nation’s longest standing and most respected institutions for interpreter preparation, professional development, and Deaf community advocacy.
The program’s roots trace to January 1975, when the first interpreter training at what was then the Oregon College of Education took place over two weeks. The effort was made possible through federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education and spearheaded by Associate Professor of Special Education John Freeburg, also the director of the Regional Resource Center on Deafness (RRCD), who secured the grants that made the training possible. What began as a two-week intensive training evolved into a ten-week program by the late 1970s and then into a year-long certificate program that ran from 1979 through 1993.
In 1993, Professor Sandra Gish, creator of the Gish Model of Interpreting and Freeburg launched Western’s Bachelor of Science in ASL/English Interpreting, a landmark development that transformed the program from a short-term training model into a comprehensive undergraduate degree program. That same year, a Summer Interpreter Education Program launched and ran through 2002, providing additional pathways for working interpreters to develop their skills. Funding for both programs came from the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs.
The program continued to grow throughout this period and the RRCD also administered a series of grants from the Rehabilitation Services Administration to support short-term interpreter education through the Region X Interpreter Education Center. A subsequent iteration of that RSA funding, co-directed by CM Hall and Heather Holmes, shifted focus toward training interpreters to work with DeafBlind individuals, a specialized and critically underserved population. That grant concluded Sept. 30, 2025, and the last Department of Education grant to run through the interpreting program ended in December 2025.
In 2011, Western expanded its interpreter preparation offerings with the launch of the Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies, developed by Professor Amanda Smith and Elisa Maroney, Ph.D., Professor and Coordinator of Interpreting Studies. The graduate program is language-neutral, welcoming interpreters of any language pair who meet the program’s academic expectations in written English. Over the course of the program’s history, students have produced more than 150 action research, professional, and thesis projects, a body of scholarship that is now cited by researchers and doctoral candidates across the country.
The program’s excellence has earned national recognition at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In 2008, the undergraduate interpreting program was the inaugural recipient of the Sorenson VRS Interpreter Education Award of Excellence. In 2013, the Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies received the University Professional and Continuing Education Association Outstanding Credit Program Award.
“Western Oregon University has been a cornerstone in educating and preparing ASL/English interpreters for more than 50 years, providing professional development opportunities while training the leaders and scholars who move interpreter education forward,” said Maroney. “Our graduate program is language-neutral, serving interpreters of any language pair who can successfully meet the program’s academic expectations in written English. Graduates are making an impact across the country, interpreting and teaching in every corner of the United States. We even have graduates in Brazil and Canada.”
Western’s interpreter preparation program has trained generations of practitioners who now serve Deaf communities in educational settings, medical and legal environments, and community interpreting contexts across the country and internationally. The program remains one of the few in the nation to offer a full continuum of interpreter education, from undergraduate preparation through graduate study and professional development, all within a single institution deeply rooted in Deaf culture, Deaf community partnership, and linguistic access.
As the program marks 50 years, Western honors the students, faculty, staff, Deaf community partners, and visionary leaders who built one of the most respected interpreter education programs in the nation and looks forward to the next 50 years of bridging languages, cultures, and communities.
Learn more about the ASL and interpreting programs at Western Oregon University.
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About Western Oregon University
Western Oregon University, established in Monmouth in 1856, proudly stands as Oregon’s oldest public university. Hosting around 4,000 students, Western embodies a mid-sized, NCAA Division II institution, with approximately 80% of its students hailing from within the state. Notably, its diverse student body comprises individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, veterans, and non-traditional learners. Western stands as the preferred campus in Oregon for those pursuing an enriching education within a nurturing, student-focused environment, characterized by faculty-led instruction. Where YOU belong.