The Laurent Clerc Award is an annual honor bestowed by
Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first sc ...
's Alumni Association to recognize a deaf person for "his or her outstanding contributions to society,"
and specifically to honor their achievements in the interest of deaf people.
It is named for
Laurent Clerc
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc (; 26 December 1785 – 18 July 1869) was a French teacher called "The Apostle of the Deaf in America" and was regarded as the most renowned deaf person in American Deaf History. He was taught by Abbé Sicard and dea ...
(1785-1869). It has been given to notable scientists and inventors, such as deaf scientist
Robert Weitbrecht
Robert Haig Weitbrecht (1920-1983) was an engineer at SRI International and later the spin-off company Weitbrecht Communications who invented a type of a modem (a form of acoustic coupler).
Early life and education
Weitbrecht was born in Orange, C ...
, to honor his contributions in developing the
teleprinter
A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Initia ...
and an acoustic coupler for the early
computer modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more car ...
.
It is awarded by Gallaudet University's Alumni Association through its Laurent Clerc Cultural Fund.
Recipients
* 2020
Ernest Elmer Hairston
* 2019
Nancy Rourke
* 2018
Drago Renteria
* 2017
Michelle A. Banks
* 2016
Nyle Lorenzo DiMarco
* 2015
Stephen C. Baldwin
* 2014
Alfred Sonnenstrahl
* 2013
Ann Silver
* 2012
Charles C. Baird
* 2011
Allison Schlesinger-Sepulveda, founder of
National Center for Deaf AdvocacyBarbara Kannapell
Barbara may refer to:
People
* Barbara (given name)
* Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter
* Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer
* Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...
* 2009 Scott DeLoach
* (2008: No award)
* 2007 Roy "Ed" Bosson and Nathie L. Marbury
* 2006 Gertrude Scott Galloway
Gertrude Scott Galloway (November 12, 1930 – July 17, 2014) was an American educator and administrator working with deaf children. She was the first female president of the National Association of the Deaf. She is among the first deaf women to ...
* (2005: No award)
* 2004 Carol Padden
Carol A. Padden (born 1955 in Washington, D.C.) is an American academic, author, and lecturer. She is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego, where she has been teaching since 1983. Padden receiv ...
and Tom L. Humphries
* 2003 Kevin Nolan, Sr.
* 2002 Berta Foster
* 2001 Frank Lala
* 2000 Ben Soukup
* 1999 Sam Rittenberg
* 1998 Alexander "Sandy" Ewan[
* 1997 Marvin J. Marshall
* 1996 Ausma Smits
* 1995 Earnest I. Okwara
* 1994 Albert Couthen
* 1993 Gilbert C. Eastman
* 1992 John B. Davis
* 1991 Otto B. Berg
* 1990 Leo M. Jacobs
* 1989 Jack R. Gannon
* 1988 Ernest Marshall
* 1987 Charley E. Whisman
* 1986 William J. Marra]
References
External links
Laurent Clerc Award
at Gallaudet University
{{Gallaudet University
American awards
Deaf culture
Gallaudet University
Awards for contributions to society