Dr. Glenn B. Anderson, '68, H'17

Dr. Glenn B. Anderson, '68, H-'17, served on the Gallaudet Board of Trustees from 1989 to 2005, his last 11 years as chair, and returned in summer 2020 for a two-year appointment. When he stepped down in 2005, his fellow trustees passed a resolution praising him for bringing to the board, "...a broad understanding of issues in higher education, dedication to addressing diversity issues, commitment to strengthening undergraduate education, excellence in research and scholarship, outstanding leadership qualities, and strong ties with constituencies both on and off campus. ..."

Anderson grew up in Chicago and began college as the only deaf student on a campus of 12,000 students at Northern Illinois University (NIU). There, he encountered bias and discrimination due to his deafness and his race. The next semester, Anderson transferred to Gallaudet. "It was my first experience seeing deaf people with advanced degrees who were working in professional positions as administrators and professors," he recalled. "My eyes were opened wide." Anderson excelled at Gallaudet, both academically and personally. He majored in psychology and became involved in campus life. He joined the Student Body Government, wrote for The Buff and Blue student newspaper, and became a star on the basketball and track teams, earning him a place in the Gallaudet University Athletics Hall of Fame. After graduating from Gallaudet, Anderson earned his master's degree from the University of Arizona and doctorate from New York University (NYU), both in rehabilitation counseling. While a student at NYU, Anderson met his future wife, Karen. They have two children -- a daughter, Danielle, and a son, Jamaal -- and four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Over the past four decades, Anderson's storied career has contributed greatly to the well-being of deaf America. After serving for two years as a vocational rehabilitation counselor in Detroit, he joined the Deafness Research and Training Center at NYU, where he became coordinator of the referral and counseling center that provided community service and advocacy to deaf residents in New York City. In his next job with LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York, Anderson helped establish a continuing education program to benefit deaf adults interested in returning to school and/or obtaining college degrees. In 2015, the program reached its 40th anniversary.

In 1982, he began a 26-year career as director of training at the University of Arkansas's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Persons Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Little Rock. He was also a professor in the University's Department of Rehabilitation, Human Resources, and Communication Disorders, and coordinator of the Master's Degree Program in Rehabilitation Counseling With Persons Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Since 2008, Anderson has been a professor in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Interpreter Education Program within the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation, and Adult Education.

Anderson was appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush as a member of the National Council of Disability from 2002 to 2005, and he has served as chair of the State Rehabilitation Council for Arkansas Rehabilitation Services and as a member of the editorial review board for the American Annals of the Deaf and the Journal of Interpretation. Anderson formerly served on the board of directors of the National Black Deaf Advocates and as newsletter editor for the Arkansas Association of the Deaf.

Anderson has written numerous articles for professional journals and books. He wrote and published a book and DVD, Still I Rise: The Enduring Legacy of Black Deaf Arkansans Before and After Integration, and he is among the 200 African Americans included in Vernon Farmer and Evelyn Shephard-Wynn's four-volume book series, Voices of Historical and Contemporary Black American Pioneers, published in 2012. His most recent publication, co-authored with Gallaudet faculty member Lindsay Dunn, is titled, “Examining the Intersectionality of Deaf Identity, Race/Ethnicity, and Diversity through a Black Deaf Lens.” It was published in 2020 in “Deaf Identities: Exploring New Frontiers,” co-edited by Gallaudet faculty members Dr. Irene W. Leigh and Dr. Catherine A. O’Brien.

The contributions made by Anderson over the past four decades have earned him much recognition. His awards include the Alice Cogswell Award for valuable service on behalf of deaf people by the Gallaudet University Alumni Association, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Linwood Smith Humanitarian Award by the National Black Deaf Advocates, induction into the American Athletic Association of the Deaf Hall of Fame and the National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities, and the Frederick C. Schreiber Leadership Award by the National Association of the Deaf.

In 2017 he was honored with a doctorate of humane letters from Gallaudet University.