Deaf President Now

On March 6, 1988, students at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. — the world's only university designed specifically for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students — learned that the Board of Trustees had picked a hearing woman with no knowledge of sign language as their new president, over two qualified Deaf finalists. Within hours, students shut down the campus. One week later, the board reversed its decision.

- Why Gallaudet University had never had a Deaf president in its 124-year history before 1988 - The four demands of the Deaf President Now (DPN) protest - How students organized the protest without a single spoken word - The lasting impact of DPN on Deaf civil rights and the ADA

Gallaudet was founded in 1864 and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. Despite educating generations of Deaf leaders, every one of its presidents for the next 124 years was a hearing person. In 1988, when longtime president Jerry Lee announced his retirement, the search narrowed to three finalists: two Deaf candidates, I. King Jordan and Harvey Corson, and one hearing candidate, Elisabeth Zinser, who did not know sign language. On March 6, 1988, the Board of Trustees announced Zinser as the winner. Board chair Jane Bassett Spilman reportedly told a reporter that "deaf people are not yet ready to function in a hearing world," a comment that ignited outrage across campus.

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni organized almost overnight. They blockaded campus gates with buses, marched to the Capitol, and issued four clear demands: (1) Zinser must resign and a Deaf president be selected, (2) Spilman must resign as board chair, (3) the board must be at least 51% Deaf, and (4) no reprisals against protesters. Student body president Greg Hlibok, along with Bridgetta Bourne, Jerry Covell, and Tim Rarus, became the recognized student leadership, later known as the "Gallaudet Four." By March 13, just one week after it began, the board met all four demands. Dr. I. King Jordan became Gallaudet's first Deaf president in the university's history, and Phil Bravin became its first Deaf board chair.