A Fair Chance in the Race of Life: The Role of Gallaudet University in Deaf History

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ARTICLES IN THIS collection are adapted in part from the presentations given at the conference “150 Years on Kendall Green: Celebrating Deaf History and Gallaudet,” chaired by Brian Greenwald. The conference marked the celebration of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the beginning of deaf education on Kendall Green. On February 16, 1857, President Franklin Pierce signed into law an act authorizing federal funding for the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind located on property in the District of Columbia owned by Amos Kendall–the institution that became Gallaudet University. Over two and half days from April 11 through April 13, 2007, and despite an unscheduled six-hour electrical outage, presenters delivered about thirty papers. No conference can be completed without the support, guidance, and encouragement of many people. Special thanks go to the conference planning committee for their commitment, diligence, and ingenuity. David Armstrong, Senda Benaissa, Billy Ennis, Gene Mirus, Joseph Murray, and Nicole Sutliffe were knowledgeable and congenial colleagues and committee members. The Schaefer Professorship Committee and the Gallaudet University Graduate School provided some financial support. Wendy Grande, of the Gallaudet University Press Institute, and Deirdre Mullervy, Valencia Simmons, Daniel Wallace, and Ivey Wallace, from Gallaudet University Press, provided staff, resources, and ongoing Web site support. All deserve thanks for their commitment to the conference. Sue Casteel of Gallaudet Interpreting Services and the conference interpreters provided exemplary service and skill. Brian Greenwald’s former undergraduate advisee and student, Jeffery Peterson, did an excellent job excavating old photographs and assembling a slideshow. Robert Sirvage graciously volunteered and developed video clips of the Gallaudet presidents . Many graduate students, including Leah Abshire, Scott Reekers, vii viii Acknowledgments Sylvie Soulier, and Tiffany Tuccoli, helped attend to the minute details of conference organization and made the conference chair’s job easier. Russ Olson, then chair of the Government and History Department, granted Brian Greenwald release time to focus on conference planning. Andre Pellerin assembled a fascinating photograph exhibit of Kendall Green at the Washburn Art Building, and Lindsey M. Parker wrote the captions. David S. Evans contributed in a very special way, writing blog posts for the Gallaudet University Press Institute Web site. His tireless work made it possible for people to enjoy the conference across the country. Special thanks are also due to all presenters and moderators who came from near and far to participate. Their contributions have made our institution’s history more transparent and challenged past interpretations of the people who studied and labored on our campus. The Gallaudet University Department of Theatre Arts contributed in a unique way, presenting Gilbert Eastman’s classic performance Sign Me Alice for conference participants and the campus. Working with Willy Conley, department chair, and Angela Farrand, who directed the play, was an absolute pleasure. The Gallaudet University Archives, particularly Ulf Hedberg and Michael J. Olson, contributed directly, graciously allowing students to comb through photographs and loaning paintings for the Washburn exhibit. Even more significantly, the vast majority of the sources for the articles that have been selected for publication are from the Gallaudet Archives. This record is a testament to the importance of preservation and to the value of Gallaudet University’s financial and staff commitment to this purpose. Finally, this conference, like all Gallaudet University Press Institute conferences, was made possible by the financial and administrative support Paul Kelly provided. Over a period of several years, Kelly, Gallaudet University’s vice president for administration and finance, allowed Vic Van Cleve and his colleague David Armstrong to use whatever resources they could muster to sponsor a series of conferences and books to engage issues of importance to deaf people and to involve the Gallaudet community in scholarly endeavors. Brian Greenwald would like to thank his wife, Rebecca, for her patience , support, and guidance through the short dinners and many hours spent away, planning for the conference. He also is grateful that his parents , Richard and Shelley Greenwald, took time out of their busy schedules to attend the conference. No less important, his wife’s family, Judy McGregor, Doug McGregor, and Margaret Mattox, traveled to the conference to learn more about Gallaudet and deaf history. It was a lot for Acknowledgments ix them to absorb, and he is grateful they accepted the challenge to learn more about deaf people, whom they have known for all of their lives. Finally, to Cam Czubek: while he’s too young...