[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E90-E91]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CELEBRATING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF DR. ROBERT J. SMITHDAS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 14, 2009

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of an 
outstanding humanitarian, Dr. Robert J. Smithdas, whose personal 
accomplishments and dedication to the U.S. deaf-blind community are 
truly remarkable. Dr. Smithdas is retiring as director of Community 
Education at the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and 
Adults, HKNC, after many years of dedicated service.
  Having contracted meningitis at the age of four, Dr. Smithdas 
eventually suffered a total loss of both vision and hearing. With great 
determination, he embraced educational opportunities at the Western 
Pennsylvania School for the Blind and the Perkins School for the Blind. 
Assisted by individualized instruction and speech therapy, Dr. Smithdas 
thrived in scholastics, earning an average of 98.6. After graduating in 
1945, he was accepted to the Industrial Home for the Blind, IHB, and 
earned a fellowship to St. John's University in New York. Dr. Smithdas 
earned his BA cum laude in 1950 and later attended New York University, 
where he became the first deaf-blind individual to earn a master's 
degree. Dr. Smithdas also earned honorary doctoral degrees from 
Gallaudet University, Western Michigan University, Mount Aloysius 
College, and St. John's University.

[[Page E91]]

  Dr. Smithdas' commitment to education prepared him for his lifelong 
service to the deaf-blind community. Having worked in several 
management capacities at IHB, Dr. Smithdas played a crucial role in 
offering the kind of rehabilitative services necessary to expand the 
horizons of succeeding generations of deaf-blind individuals, including 
the development of appropriate legislation. With Helen Keller herself 
and deaf-blind community advocate Peter Salmon, Dr. Smithdas played a 
vital role in helping to enact the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, which 
sanctioned the creation of the Helen Keller National Center.
  Leading by example, Dr. Smithdas has demonstrated that with 
rehabilitative training, deaf-blind individuals can be active members 
of our society, and that they have much to contribute. Dr. Smithdas' 
numerous national awards and achievements include being named both The 
Poetry Society of America's ``Poet of the Year'' and ``The Handicapped 
American of the Year'' by the President's Committee on Employment of 
People Who Are Disabled, as well as being inducted into the National 
Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities.
  Dr. Smithdas' impact on the lives of the deaf-blind--both those he 
has met and those who have just benefitted from his good works--is 
truly immeasurable. And those who have had the privilege to read his 
works, attend his lectures, and take advantage of the programs he 
developed know that he is a truly exceptional American. I ask my 
colleagues in the United States House of Representatives to please join 
me in honoring and thanking Dr. Robert J. Smithdas for his lifetime of 
dedication to the American deaf-blind community.

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