Gallaudet Board of Trustees appoints six new members

Editor: You may remember that some members of the Gallaudet Board of Trustees have resigned since the flap over the appointment of Jane Fernandes. Gallaudet has just announced six new Board members, many of whom have deep ties to the Deaf community. Here's the press release.

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October 2007

Six new members have been appointed to Gallaudet University's Board of Trustees, Board Chair Benjamin Soukup announced on October 5.

Named to the board are: Dr. Jorge L. Díaz-Herrera, Dr. Lawrence R. Fleischer, Jeffrey L. Humber, Jr., Dr. Richard Ladner, James R. Macfadden, and Marlee Matlin.

Díaz-Herrera is dean and professor in the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He earned his doctorate degree in philosophy from the University of Lancaster, England, in 1981, and a graduate certificate in management leadership in education from Harvard University in 2006. Díaz-Herrera is a member of the Technical Advisory Group, engineering methods, for Carnegie Mellon University, the Advisory Committee for Computer Information Sciences and Engineering for the National Science Foundation, and the Information Technology Steering Committee for the City of Rochester, N.Y.

Fleischer, a member of Gallaudet's Class of 1967, is chair of the Department of Deaf Studies at California State University, Northridge. He taught mathematics at Gallaudet from 1967 to 1970. Fleischer received his doctor of education degree in educational administration from Brigham Young University in 1975. He has extensive experience serving on organizations that benefit deaf people, including president of the Council on Education of the Deaf, president of the American Sign Language Te achers Association, president of the American Athletic Association of the Deaf, and member of the National Certification Board of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. He is also an author of books and magazine articles, and film producer on topics related to American Sign Language and deaf culture.

Humber is president and chief executive officer of Delon Hampton and Associates engineering and consulting firm. He received his juris doctorate degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1978. Prior to his current position, Humber was senior vice president, head of global diversity, for Merrill Lynch and Co., Inc. Part of his responsibilities were to develop new approaches to diversity training for managers, and better training techniques and methods to give women and minority financial advisors a higher success rate and reduced rates of attrition. From 1982 to 1984, he was director of the Department of Finance and Revenue for the Government of the District of Columbia, serving as a member of the Mayor's Cabinet and developing the city's revenue budget, among other tasks. One of Humber's three children attended the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) on the Gallaudet campus in the early 1980s, and his wife, Willa, was employed at KDES during this time.

Ladner is a Boeing professor in computer science and engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, where he is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and in the Department of Linguistics. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1971. Since 1994, as part of the DO-IT Project, he has held a summer workshop for high school students with disabilities, encouraging them to pursue college programs and careers in science, mathematics, and engineering. He is a recipient of the 2004 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. Ladner's parents, Emil ('35) and Mary ('36), and his sister, Suzanne Boesen (G-'62), are Gallaudet alumni. He is fluent in American Sign Language. When he was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1985 and 1986, Ladner was a visiting faculty member at Gallaudet. He has made efforts to help the University of Washington become more welcoming to deaf students, faculty, and staff, and succeeded in having the university offer its first American Sign Language classes this fall.

Macfadden, a member of Gallaudet's Class of 1962, is president and owner of JR Mac, Inc., which he established this year for the express purpose of helping Job Corps Centers accommodate deaf youth. Prior to that he was president, owner, and CEO of Macfadden and Associates, Inc., which develops computer software systems and program management services, primarily for the civilian federal government. Macfadden holds membership in several professional associations, including Gallaudet's Board of Associates and the Board of Trustees of Rochester Institute of Technology. He holds the distinction of being the first deaf business person to be certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a minority business, based solely on being deaf.

Matlin is an internationally acclaimed deaf actress who has appeared in countless movies and television roles. At age 21 she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Children of a Lesser God. She has also received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama. She is also a noted author and producer. Matlin received an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree from Gallaudet in 1987. She was appointed by President Clinton in 1994 to the Corporation for National Service and served as chair of National Volunteer Week. She currently serves on the boards of several charitable organizations and is the national spokesperson for The American Red Cross.