April 27, 2001
Former FCC Chairman to Receive Honorary Degree and Give Commencement Address at Gallaudet University
Washington, D.C. - William E. Kennard, who served as chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission from 1997 until January of this year, will be honored by Gallaudet University at its 132nd commencement exercises on Friday, May 11. Kennard will give the commencement address and will be awarded an honorary doctoral degree.
During Kennard’s tenure, the FCC dramatically expanded access to communications technologies for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Kennard improved policies on telecommunications relay services, closed captioning, captioning of emergency broadcasts, accessibility of telecommunications equipment, and compatibility between wireless telephones and text telephones, known as TTYs.
Kennard considered disability access to the information revolution as a civil right and made it a top priority of the FCC. He established a Disability Rights Office to ensure that accessibility would be an integral component of all FCC policies. He also appointed a federal advisory committee on consumer and disability issues, to
guarantee that consumers and the disability community will have a voice at the FCC.
Kennard’s commitment to bridging the digital divide was evident in the field of education as well. He aggressively implemented the FCC’s e-rate program by investing over $6 billion to bring the Internet to 95% of K-12 schools.
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