Arkansas Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf
Meet the ARID Vice President
Raphael (Ray) James
Raphael (Ray) James, MS/M.Ed., IC/TC, TCDHH-IV/CIC,
ASLTA, has been a faculty member of the Interpreter Training Program since fall 1992. He generally teaches: ASL II, ASL III, Principles of Educational Interpreting, Interpreting in Academic Subjects, Advanced Interpreting, and Practicum.
He received an MS/Ed in Rehabilitation Counseling with emphasis in Deafness from the University of Arkansas in 1995, and received a Bachelor of Theology from International Bible Seminary in Portsmouth, Florida, 1989. He achieved and maintains licenses with the Texas Board of Evaluation for Interpreters (BEI) under the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TCDHH) since 1980, and national certification with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Inc. (RID) since 1987. Mr James has been involved in Deafness and interpretation for more than twenty years with the last thirteen years as a professional educator. He is the Project Coordinator of Multi-State Preparation of Educational Interpreters at the Associate and Baccalaureate Levels, a federal grant awarded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) through the Department of Education, Washington DC.
Mr. James served as adjunct instructor in the Houston Community College System, Communication with the Deaf Program, and has provided workshops, seminars, and presentations on various topics across the country and internationally. He received the Lillian Beard Interpreter of the Year award from the Deaf Community of Greater Houston, Texas, (1990), recognition for distinguished service from the Greater Houston Interpreters for the Deaf, (1992), and was awarded the Harry and Sally Bolton Award for outstanding achievement in Rehabilitation Counseling Education (with emphasis in Deafness - 1995). In 1999, the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. awarded Mr. James with the Distinguished Service Award, and in 2002, UALR's College of Education selected him for the Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service.
Mr. James is politically active in interpreter organizations nationally and served as President of the Arkansas Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (ARID). He was involved for nine years with the development of the Certification Maintenance Program and the Associate Continuing Education Tracking (ACET) for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. He served as the Chairperson of the Professional Development Committee of RID, which administers certification maintenance, for five of those years. He was recognized by the Arkansas Leadership Academy for his contribution with excellence toward the implementation of the Distance Teaching and Learning Seminar at UALR.