RELEASE: Famed physician delivers Commencement address

From: Gallaudet - May 4, 2005

Famed physician delivers Commencement address

Dr. Oliver Sacks will receive an honorary doctorate from Gallaudet University

WASHINGTON – Dr. Oliver Sacks will be the keynote speaker at Gallaudet University's 2005 Commencement.

Gallaudet's commencement takes place 1:30 p.m., May 13, 2005 at the university's Field House. This year, more than 173 undergraduate and 153 graduate students will participate.

Dr. Sacks is a physician, writer and clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His book, Seeing Voices, focuses on American Sign Language and the conflicts between those who seek to teach people who are prelingually deaf to communicate via voice and lip reading, and those who maintain that sign language is by far a more effective method of communication. His book also details the 1988 Deaf President Now protest at Gallaudet.

In addition to serving as Commencement speaker, Dr. Sacks will receive an honorary doctorate degree from Gallaudet.

Other honorees at this year's Commencement include Dr. Nancy E. Kensicki, '65, who will be awarded Professor Emerita status; Dr. Gerald "Bummy" Burstein, '50, who will receive the 2005 DPN Leadership Award; and Dr. Oscar P. Cohen, who will receive an honorary doctorate degree.

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About Gallaudet University Gallaudet University is the world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate students. The University enjoys an international reputation for the outstanding graduate programs it provides deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students, as well as for the quality of the research it conducts on the history, language, culture, and other topics related to deaf people. In addition, the University's Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center serves deaf and hard-of-hearing children at its two demonstration schools and throughout the nation by developing, implementing, and disseminating innovative educational strategies. Gallaudet is located in Washington, DC.