[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 8, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          CELEBRATING GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY'S SESQUICENTENNIAL

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                            HON. KEVIN YODER

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 8, 2014

  Mr. YODER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of Gallaudet 
University's sesquicentennial.
  I am proud to serve as one of the U.S. Congress's members of their 
board of trustees during this momentous occasion. I acknowledge them 
both for their achievements as the Nation's premier institution for the 
Deaf, and for their storied history of excellence in education, 
improving access throughout America and the world.
  In 1856, philanthropist and former postmaster general Amos Kendall 
donated land on his estate in northeast Washington, D.C. for a place to 
educate the city's Deaf youth, and, eight years later, President 
Abraham Lincoln signed a bill authorized by the U.S. Congress for the 
institution to grant college degrees.
  Theology graduate Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was inspired to dedicate 
his life to educating Deaf people after tutoring Alice Cogswell, a 
nine-year-old Deaf neighbor, and traveled to France, where he learned a 
manual communication method of instruction developed by renowned French 
educators Abbe Sicard, Laurent Clerc, and Jean Massieu. Upon returning 
to the United States, Gallaudet established the American School for the 
Deaf, the nation's first permanent school for Deaf children, in 
Hartford, Connecticut.
  In 1857, Gallaudet's youngest son, Edward Miner Gallaudet, took up 
his father's cause when he and his Deaf mother, Sophia Fowler 
Gallaudet, were invited by Kendall to run the newly established 
Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the 
Blind in Washington, D.C., and with Kendall's resources and Gallaudet's 
leadership and vision, the fledgling school grew and flourished, 
expanding to provide instruction for aspiring teachers of the Deaf and 
to became the world's first--and today retains the status of the only--
institution of higher education devoted to Deaf and hard of hearing 
students, and to hearing students who pursue careers as professionals 
serving the Deaf community.
  Gallaudet presided over the first commencement in June 1869. Those 
graduating that day received diplomas signed by President Ulysses S. 
Grant, and to this day the diplomas of all Gallaudet graduates are 
signed by the current U.S. President.
  In 1969, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Model Secondary School 
for the Deaf Act (MSSD), and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of 
Health, Education and Welfare and Gallaudet President Leonard Elstad 
signed an agreement authorizing the establishment and operation of the 
MSSD on the Gallaudet campus. One year later, President Nixon signed 
the bill that authorized the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School. 
Those two schools are part of Gallaudet's Laurent Clerc National Deaf 
Education Center, which is devoted to the creation and dissemination of 
educational opportunities for Deaf students nationwide.
  By an act of Congress, Gallaudet was granted university status in 
October 1986 and presently Gallaudet's undergraduate students have 
their choice of more than 40 majors. Graduate programs offer 
certificates and master of arts, master of science, doctoral, and 
specialist degrees in many specialties regarding professional service 
to Deaf and hard of hearing people.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support for Gallaudet University and their 
essential mission here in our nation's capital. I congratulate all of 
the faculty, staff, students, and all involved with the Gallaudet 
community on their sesquicentennial.

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