Announcements

Announcements http://comd.usu.edu/htm/news/announcements en-us Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:27:30 MST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 360 kyfa_blair@yahoo.com (Leslie Blair) In Memory of Dr. Thomas C. Clark http://comd.usu.edu/htm/news/announcements/articleID=8857 Thomas Cecil Clark passed away on Saturday, March 13, 2010. Tom was a beloved teacher, leader, and mentor who devoted his life to training teachers and parent advisers who could meet the needs of Deaf children and their families. Fifty years ago, when Tom Clark, the founder of the SKI-HI Institute, was working at the Oregon School for the Deaf, he witnessed a two-year-old child being placed in the residential program.  The trauma that occurred as he watched both child and family separate had a profound impact on him.  That day he vowed that he would find a way to provide services to families of these children in the home.  Less than ten years later, he established the SKI-HI Institute.   In 1972, Dr. Clark wrote a Model Demonstration proposal to the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped.  This proposal was funded and over the next three years, the SKI-HI Model for early home-based programming for families of infants and toddlers with hearing loss was developed in Utah.  Following this 3-year demonstration period, the model was funded for outreach and has been adopted by service agencies across the United States since then.     During his tenure at the SKI-HI Institute, Dr. Clark was also instrumental in developing other demonstration and outreach models and programs for infants and children with other special needs including blindness/vision loss and deafblindness.   Throughout his career, Dr. Clark worked tirelessly to promote the basic mission of the SKI-HI Institute: to teach families of young children with special needs how to communicate with their child, how to help their child learn at home, and how to obtain the services they need in their local community so that their child can stay at home with their families and get the vital early start they need to succeed in life.   In 1992, Dr. Clark was instrumental in bringing together an Institute Advisory Board to establish a national organization whose initial purpose was to help the numerous SKI-HI Network agencies work together and develop mechanisms for continued support. This national organization is the American Association for Home-Based Early Interventionists (AAHBEI).   Dr. Clark retired from the SKI-HI Institute and Utah State University December, 1992.   As a result of Dr. Clark’s pioneering efforts in early intervention, the SKI-HI Institute continues today as a national and international leader in early intervention.  Over 15, 000 parent advisors/early interventionists have been trained in the implementation and use of SKI-HI Institute programs. SKI-HI programs and materials are used in all 50 states, and in over 40 countries.  Over 100,000 infants and children and their families have been impacted by the materials and training developed and provided by the SKI-HI Institute.   In retirement, Tom primarily spent his time serving the community, delivering Meals on Wheels, doing church work, and of course, going fishing!   Tom’s tireless enthusiasm for life, for serving others and for the many causes that received his dedication are unmatched.   He will surely be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.   A memorial service for Tom will be held on Saturday, March 20 at 2:00 p.m. at the North Logan 1st Ward Building 1105 East 2100 North in North Logan, Utah.   ****ASL  Interpreters will be provided**** A scholarship to assist future teachers of the deaf with their college education has been set up in Tom ’ s honor if you would like to make a contribution. It will be called the Tom C. and Bonnie Clark Deaf Education Scholarship, to honor both Tom and his dear wife, Bonnie for their life-long devotion to the field of Deaf Education.   You should send donations to: Deaf Education Teacher Training Program 1000 Old Main Hill Utah State University Logan, Utah 84322-1000 For more information about this scholarship, you may contact Dr. J. Freeman King, Director of Deaf Education at Utah State University. (435) 797-1343 (v/vp)   freeman.king@usu.edu Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 MST http://comd.usu.edu/htm/news/announcements/articleID=8857