LOUISVILLE, KY. (AP) -- This weekend marks a big step for the sign language program at the University of Louisville.
The university will recognize the program's first 10 graduates in a ceremony on Friday, before morning commencement on Saturday.
U of L says it started its American Sign Language Interpreting Studies Program leading to a bachelor's degree in 2010 to help provide access and equality for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. The university says the U.S. Labor Department projected in 2007 that employment of interpreters would increase 24 percent during the next decade.
More than 50 U of L students are majoring in the sign language program, which is part of the classical and modern languages department in the College of Arts and Sciences.
