Dr. Frank Bowe passed away August 23, 2007. Dr. Bowe directed the first cross-disability consumer advocacy organization in the United States, the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD). Through his visionary leadership te coalition was pivotal in gaining passage of Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, the world's first civil-rights provision for persons with disabilities.
Posted by rollingrains at August 24, 2007 01:54 AMAug 23, 2007
Hofstra University Mourns the Loss Of Dr. Frank Bowe, Longtime
Professor And Renowned Champion of People with DisabilitiesHofstra University, Hempstead, NY - Frank Bowe, Ph.D, LL.D, a
professor of counseling, research, special education and
rehabilitation (CRSR) in Hofstra University's School of Education
and Allied Human Services, passed away on August 21, 2007. He was
60 years old. He had served on the faculty since 1989 and held the
Dr. Mervin Livingston Schloss Distinguished Professorship for the
Study of Disabilities. In 2005, 2006 and during the spring of
2007, he served as acting chair of Hofstra's CRSR Department.Dr. Bowe was a nationally recognized champion for the rights of
people with disabilities and a highly regarded and prolific
researcher in this area. On the Hofstra campus he was celebrated
for his excellent teaching skills and for being a professor who
brought warmth, humor and unwavering dedication to the classroom."Dr. Bowe was a prominent scholar and advocate for Americans with
disabilities, as well as a caring and outstanding teacher," said
Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz. "There are many Hofstra
alumni and current students who credit Dr. Bowe with opening their
eyes to the rewards of teaching and of working with special needs
students. In 1996 he won the University's Distinguished Teaching
Award, an honor based on the recommendation of graduating seniors
who regarded the opportunity to study with Dr. Bowe as a
transforming experience.""Frank Bowe will be missed very much by his students, our alumni
and his colleagues. He set an example of compassion and excellence
to which we should all aspire."Dr. Bowe received a Ph.D. in 1976 from New York University; an
M.A. in 1971 from Gallaudet University; and a B.A. in 1969 from
Western Maryland College. Before joining the faculty at Hofstra,
Dr. Bowe served as a regional commissioner of the U.S. Department
of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration. From 1984
to 1986 he was the chairman of the U.S. Congress Commission on
Education of the Deaf.Dr. Bowe is perhaps best known for his leadership as executive
director of the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities
from 1976 to 1981. He was the organization's first executive
officer, and provided crucial direction during the nationwide sit-
in regarding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in 1977, the
world's first civil-rights provision for persons with
disabilities, which eventually led to the American Disabilities
Act, passed in 1990.In 1980 Dr. Bowe, who was deaf, became the first person with a
disability to represent any nation in the planning of the United
Nations International Year of Disabled Persons. For more than two
decades Dr. Bowe had been a consultant to the U.S. Congress on a
variety of issues. In 1992 he received the Distinguished Service
Award from the President for his lifetime achievement. In 1994 he
was inducted into the National Hall of Fame for People with
Disabilities. He is also credited as one of the architects of
provisions in the 1996 Telecommunications Act that have greatly
enhanced the quality of life for Americans with disabilities.Dr. Bowe's teaching at Hofstra focused on inclusion, technology in
education and meeting K-12 special needs students. Outside the
classroom, he tirelessly researched how all of society not just
schools can better accommodate people with disabilities.His latest study, released in September 2006, revealed that
Americans with disabilities the nation's third largest minority
are the least likely of any population within the country to
achieve the American dream. Dr. Bowe reported that more than a
quarter of this demographic live in poverty (75% earn less than
$20,000 annually) and fewer than half have private health
insurance. His research found that many adults with disabilities
subsist on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and although the monthly funds
received from those programs provide barely livable wages, the
benefit of Medicare and/or Medicaid is something this population
cannot do without.Dr. Bowe also examined education in this study and found that
despite measures to level the playing field, educational
opportunity for students with disabilities and those without is
not parallel. While the typical 9-year-old would be in the 4th
grade, a 9-year-old student with disabilities is more than half
likely (61%) to be in the third grade. Among high school students,
the vast majority of 15-year-old students with disabilities are
not with their same age peers in the 10th grade but in 9th or 8th
grades.Dr. Bowe authored another paper that was released in 2005 by Rep.
Fred Upton (R, MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet, Energy and Commerce
Committee, U.S. House of Representatives. The paper, titled Two-
Way Technologies: A History of the Struggle to Communicate,
explored how people who are deaf, who are blind, who have cerebral
palsy, or who have mental retardation have communicated over the
past 40 years and how public policy (federal laws, orders of the
Federal Communication Commission, etc.) has alternately led and
lagged technology.Dr. Bowe had a deep impact on his students and maintained close
ties with many of them after graduation. He was truly an
inspiration to students, fellow faculty and public officials. He
is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and daughters Doran and Whitney.
Media Contact:Ginny Greenberg
University Relations
Room 202 Hofstra Hall
Phone: (516) 463-6819
Fax: (516) 463-5146
Email: prpgse@hofstra.edu