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March 1, 2003
COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL
CHILDREN DIVISION ON VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS PRESENTS 2003 AWARDS AT INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE IN DIVISION
ON VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS’ DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
The Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Visual Impairments
is proud to present the Distinguished Service
Award to a former president of DVI, Dr. Philip Hatlen, at the International
Conference in
Dr. Hatlen will receive this prestigious award for his diligent work as
an advocate for persons with blindness and visual impairments.
His contributions to the field have been broad-based and immeasurable. Dr.
Hatlen began his career as a classroom teacher of children with blindness and
visual impairment, but soon moved into a leadership role as principal of the
California School for the Blind. As
the current superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually
Impaired, Dr. Hatlen continues to advocate for children.
He has initiated collaborative outreach and flexible short-term programs
that allow students to access educational services as needed, and through his
efforts, Texas has become a national leader in the production of accessible
textbooks. Dr. Hatlen is also one of
the originators of the National Agenda, the road map to the future for
delivery of services to children with visual impairments.
He is passionate about, and dedicated to, insuring that persons with
visual impairments receive the same opportunities in life as their sighted
peers. As an activist, Dr. Hatlen has no equals. He was president of AEVH, CEC/DVI, and played an integral role in establishing the Alliance of and for Visually Impaired Texans (AVIT) and AERBVI. He spearheaded efforts to establish the Low Incidence Disability Advisory Committee (LIDAC), and worked to create the Joint Action Committee (JAC), a coalition of organizations and agencies of and for persons with blindness in California. Dr. Hatlen also helped to secure legislation for access to printed textbooks in Braille as well as funding to support a consortium of university teacher preparation programs in visual impairments in Texas. A
former professor at San Francisco State University (SFSU), Dr. Hatlen became a
leader in the preparation of new professionals.
During his tenure at SFSU he used his innovative style and progressive
thinking to create school programs for children with deafblindness and multiple
disabilities. He recognized that
students with visual impairments required a disability-specific curriculum and
emphasized this approach throughout the teacher preparation program at SFSU.
While working with legends Georgie Lee Abel and Berthold Lowenfeld Dr.
Hatlen prepared Our Blind Children and Blind Children Learn to Read.
By his example and through his teachings, Dr. Hatlen encouraged his
students to become active in professional organizations and advocates for
appropriate services for individuals with blindness and visual impairments. Dr.
Hatlen is a philosopher, historian, and an academic; he is considered one of the
great thinkers in our field. Through
his expertise in, knowledge and love of, and dedication to the field of
blindness and visual impairments, he has mentored many students who themselves
have become leaders of the field. It
is with great pleasure that the Division on Visual Impairments awards Dr. Philip
Hatlen the Distinguished Service
Award for 2003. *
* * * * * * * * * * * * For further information
about the Division on Visual Impairments’ Distinguished Service Award, please
contact Dr. Stuart Wittenstein at (510) 794-3816. |