Celebrating the Life of Frank G. Bowe – A Memorial Service
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A News Release from the National Association of the Deaf
Release Date: October 18, 2007
Contact:
Anita B. Farb
Director, Communications and Operations
National Association of the Deaf
Email: www.nad.org/contactus
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Celebrating the Life of Frank G. Bowe – A Memorial Service
Silver Spring, MD – A memorial service celebrating the life and accomplishments of Frank G. Bowe, PhD, LL.D will be held on Monday, November 19, 2007, 1:00 p.m., in Chapel Hall on the campus of Gallaudet University. A reception follows the service in Peikoff Alumni House, also on the campus. Dr. Bowe, a long-time leader and champion in the disability rights movement, died on August 21, 2007.
The memorial service will also be available via web cast at: http://academictech.gallaudet.edu/videoevent/2007/Bowe/
Dr. Bowe served as a Government Affairs consultant to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) during the past several years, in addition to his full time work as a professor of counseling, research, special education and rehabilitation (CRSR) in Hofstra University’s School of Education and Allied Human Services. Prior to serving as consultant to the NAD, he provided his expertise and support quietly behind the scenes and opened doors on Capitol Hill, providing opportunity for the NAD to share its message with our country’s leaders.
“A true giant is gone, but he paved the way for many generations to come. Frank Bowe’s commitment to accessibility and ‘leveling the playing field’; his wit and humor; and his uncanny ability to encourage others to action are important elements of his legacy,†said Nancy J. Bloch, NAD Chief Executive Officer. “The American deaf community and disabled Americans are the beneficiaries of his passion.â€
Frank Bowe served on the faculty at Hofstra University since 1989 and held the Dr. Mervin Livingston Schloss Distinguished Professorship for the Study of Disabilities. In 2006, Dr. Bowe gave invited testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce and conducted U.S Congressional demonstrations of high-speed broadband communications.
Dr. Bowe was the first executive director of the first national cross-disability consumer advocacy organization, the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD). He conceived the nationwide protest that led to issuance of landmark regulations for Section 504 in 1977. In 1980, Frank was the first person with a disability to represent any nation in the planning of the United Nations (UN) International Year of Disabled Persons.
In the mid-1980s, Bowe chaired the U.S. Congress Commission on Education of the Deaf (COED), which made 52 recommendations for improving education, rehabilitation and television access. He was director of Research for the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Compliance Board (“Access Boardâ€) from 1984-1987 and then regional commissioner for the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration from 1987-1989.
Dr. Bowe taught by example, demonstrating patience, strength, and selflessness as a teacher and a father. He taught his daughters, Doran and Whitney, that obstacles are only perceived and are never insuperable. “My father’s passion for his work and his dream to enable and empower people with disabilities to realize their dreams and goals permeated not only his work, but also, and equally important, his home and family life, ” said daughter Doran. He will be greatly missed by his wife, Phyllis and by his daughters, all of whom loved him immeasurably.
Gallaudet University is located at 800 Florida Avenue, NE, Washington, DC. Parking is available in the Sixth Street Garage. Directions and a campus map can be found at: http://www.gallaudet.edu/x156.xml.
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About the NAD
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), founded in 1880, safeguards the civil rights of deaf and hard of hearing Americans. As a national federation of individual members, state associations, organizational and corporate affiliates, the advocacy work of the NAD encompasses a broad spectrum of areas including, but not limited to, accessibility, education, employment, healthcare, mental health, rehabilitation, technology, telecommunications, and transportation. The NAD website ( http://www.nad.org) has a wealth of advocacy information and resources.