[Fopbc] Fwd:NFB President Marc Maurer to Receive Award from University of N...

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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_ 
(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_ (http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org) . 


### 

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