WHECTV Created: March 31, 2021 08:43 PM ROCHESTER, N.Y (WHEC) — The founding director of RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) has died. D. Robert "Bob" Frisina is known as the man who changed the face of deaf education. The RIT Board of Trustees selected Frisina as NTID's first executive director in 1967, and the college says he built it from the ground up. “Bob was instrumental in developing, encouraging, and mentoring many of NTID’s best leaders over the years,” Gerry Buckley, current NTID president and RIT vice president and dean said. “His foresight, wisdom, and perseverance helped make NTID what it is today.”