[Blindtlk] NFB President Marc Maurer to Receive Award from University of Notre Dame

[Freeh, Jessica]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org



NFB President Marc Maurer to Receive Award
from University of Notre Dame



Award Honors Maurer's Outstanding Contributions in Public Service



Notre Dame, Indiana (November 2, 2009): The National Federation of 
the Blind (NFB), the largest organization of blind people in the 
United States, today announced that its president, Dr. Marc Maurer, 
will be presented the Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, C.S.C., Award from the 
University of Notre Dame Alumni Association in a ceremony on November 
5.  Maurer, a 1974 graduate from the University of Notre Dame, will 
be honored for outstanding contributions in the field of public service.

Maurer earned his law degree from Indiana University in 1977 and 
began focusing on representing blind individuals in the courts.  A 
member of the Bar in Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Maryland, and the Bar of 
the Supreme Court, Maurer is one of the most experienced lawyers in 
the field of civil rights and discrimination against the blind.

Maurer has been president of the National Federation of the Blind 
since 1986.  In that capacity, he has joined President George W. Bush 
in the Oval Office in 2001 to celebrate the organization's Everest 
Expedition, and was present for Bush's signing into law the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002.  He has promoted new technology for the 
blind, including the knfbReader Mobile, a revolutionary cell phone 
application that scans and reads aloud most printed material, and the 
prototype vehicle for the Blind Driver Challenge.  He has overseen 
the visionary expansion of the NFB Jernigan Institute, the first 
training and research institute for the blind, led by the blind.  He 
has also previously served as president of the North 
America/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, 
said: "I am honored to receive this award from my alma mater.  As 
president of the largest organization of blind people in the United 
States, I have been fortunate to play a role in many exciting and 
life-changing developments for blind people in America.  While we 
have made much progress, there is still more to be done.  Only 10 
percent of blind children are learning Braille in this country, and 
this directly contributes to a 70 percent unemployment rate among 
blind people in the United States.  I humbly accept this award on 
behalf of blind Americans and pledge to work harder than ever to 
ensure that the blind are not left behind in today's society."



"In his role as president of the National Federation of the Blind, 
Marc Maurer continually demonstrates unwavering determination in his 
effort to better the lives of the world's blind through innovative 
technologies and services that support their independence," said 
Charles F. Lennon Jr., executive director of the Notre Dame Alumni 
Association and associate vice president for University 
Relations.  "The Notre Dame Alumni Association is pleased to honor 
Marc for his personal character and outstanding contributions in 
public service.  He is a living example of the integrity and 
generosity of spirit that Notre Dame instills in its graduates.  His 
leadership of the NFB has made the University proud."



For more information about the National Federation of the Blind, 
please visit <http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org.



###