Dr.  Lawrence .Fleischer

 

 


Board of Trustees
 COLLEGE HALL
800 FLORIDA AVE. NE
WASHINGTON, DC 20002-3695

November 2, 2009

 

 With sadness, we report the passing of Dr. Lawrence R. Fleischer, ’67, on Sunday, November 1, in Burbank, Calif. He was 64 years old.

 

 A resident of Woodland Hills, Calif., Dr. Fleischer was a member of the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees from October 2007 to October 2009. He was a tenured professor and chair of the Department of Deaf Studies at California State University at Northridge, and a long-time leader in the academic disciplines of American Sign Language and deaf studies. Dr. Fleischer taught mathematics at Gallaudet from 1967 to 1970. He received his doctor of education degree in educational administration from Brigham Young University in 1975, and joined the CSUN faculty soon afterward.

 

 Dr. Fleischer had extensive experience serving organizations that benefit deaf people, including as president of the Council on Education of the Deaf, president of the American Sign Language Teachers Association, and member of the National Certification Board of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. At the time of his death, he was president of the USA Deaf Sports Federation. He was also an author of books and magazine articles, and a film producer on topics related to American Sign Language and deaf culture.

 

 Dr. Fleischer’s survivors include his wife, Vera Pedersen Fleischer, ’70; a son, Flann Fleischer, and a daughter, Flavia S. Fleischer. Further information will follow.

  Sincerely,

 Benjamin J. Soukup, Chair

 

Daily Sundial

Deaf Studies department chair Dr. Lawrence Fleischer dies unexpectedly

By Jonathan Pobre
Published on November 03, 2009

 

Dr. Lawrence Fleischer, a professor who was instrumental in developing CSUN’s Deaf Studies program, and a leader in many facets of the deaf community, died Sunday at the age of 64.

 

“We lost a giant,” said Dr. Genie Gertz, who has been a faculty member in the department for 14 years. “Larry was larger than life. It is a devastating loss for the deaf community here in the U.S. and all over the world. He was a pioneer, a trailblazer in the field of deaf studies who was way ahead of his time.”

 

Fleischer was the endnote speaker at the American Sign Language Teachers Association conference Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz., where his daughter, Flavia, an assistant professor of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies at Utah Valley University, was also a keynote speaker, Gertz said. He collapsed and went into full arrest after arriving at Bob Hope Airport Sunday evening and died at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

 

In addition to his daughter, Fleischer is survived by his wife Vera, son Flann and granddaughter Ryssa.

Affiliated with CSUN since 1972, Fleischer began by working in special education and with teachers for the deaf, Gertz said. He was considered a “major architect” of the Deaf Studies program since it began in 1975, according to a biography provided by the Deaf Studies department.

 

“We worked well for the deaf community,” Gertz said of her working relationship with Fleischer.

The program became a full-fledged department in 1994 and now has over 475 majors enrolled, Gertz said.

Born Lawrence Raymond Fleischer on Oct. 11, 1945, to deaf parents in Long Island, N.Y., Fleischer graduated from the New York School for the Deaf, also known as Fanwood, in White Plains, N.Y., and graduated with a Bachelors Degree from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where he taught mathematics for three years prior to coming to CSUN. He was active in several organizations including the Council on Education of the Deaf and the Deaf Communications Foundation. He played football and baseball at Gallaudet and went on to serve as president of the USA Deaf Sports Federation.

 

Fleischer will be honored this morning in front of the Oviatt Library during the Stop Audism Day event. Organized by the Deaf Studies Association and Deaf CSUNians, the demonstration aims to get the community together to support the use of American Sign Language and other signed languages and fight against audism, “the hearing way of dominating, restructuring, and exercising authority over the deaf community.” The event starts at 11:30 a.m.

 

Plans for other memorials honoring Fleischer are pending.







Hall of Fame Inductees

Lawrence R. Fleischer
Granada Hills, CA

Leader

 

 

Lawrence Raymond “Larry” Fleischer grew up in Long Island, NY.  Larry is a well-known leader and a visionary in the deaf sports world.  He is best known as the person who led the restructuring of the AAAD to the USADSF from 1985 to 1989. 

 

This restructuring transitioned the AAAD from an organization which mainly coordinated national basketball and softball activities, to USADSF, a multi-sport organization with many opportunities for deaf athletes to participate in international competition.

 

Larry attended the New York School for the Deaf (Fanwood), Gallaudet University, California State University at Northridge, and Brigham Young University.  At Gallaudet, he played football and was a pitcher on the Gallaudet baseball team.  To this day, he continues to be an avid runner and very interested in sports, recreation, health and fitness.

 

In 1977-78 Larry served as Secretary-Treasurer of the FAAD and did so again in 1984.  He was Chair of the AAAD Task Force established after the 1985 WGS to successfully settle the $1.2 million deficit. He served as FAAD President 1979-80.  Larry was Chair of the AAAD Restructure Committee 1985-89 and served as AAAD President 1989-98.  From there he went on to serve as President of PANAMDES 1998-2003.  He is currently President of the USADSF.

 

Without Larry’s vision for the future, the AAAD would be limited to serving basketball and softball athletes.   Under the current structure, the USADB has become a national organization with many more men and women’s’ teams participating in the annual USADB tournament.

 

The AAAD was great for its time period and will never be forgotten. The current USADB structure allows more players to participate, and more delegates and representatives of clubs to participate in the delegates meetings, and creates a leadership potential for all involved.

 

 

 

 

News & Media

USADSF President Fleischer Passes Away

 

The Passing of a Tireless Advocate for Deaf Sports Reform and the Deaf Community is a Shock to Many SIOUX FALLS, SD — November 2, 2009 — Dr. Lawrence R. Fleischer, president of the USA Deaf Sports Federation, suddenly passed away of a heart attack upon arrival in Burbank, CA, from a conference on Sunday evening, November 1. Fleischer was on his way home from delivering the endnote presentation at the American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA) Conference in Phoenix, AZ. He was 64 years old.  Born on October 11, 1945 in Long Island, NY, to deaf parents, Fleischer had been a lifelong advocate for deaf sports and the deaf community. In addition to his duties as USADSF president, he was chair of the Deaf Studies program at California State University, Northridge, and was also a driving force in the development of many programs covering Deaf Studies, ASL and Deaf Sports. Fleischer had spent a good part of his life providing the dynamic leadership needed to restructure and change organizations to keep up with the times and needs of the Deaf Community. He was secretary-treasurer, then president of the FarWest Athletic Association of the Deaf, chairperson of the Restructuring Committee of the American Athletic Association of the Deaf (AAAD, now known as USA Deaf Sports Federation) from 1985 to 1989 and president of AAAD from 1989 to 1997. He was elected president again in 2005. He was also the driving force behind the revival of Pan American Deaf Sports Organization (PANAMDES) and served as its president 1998-2003. Under his guidance and leadership during the 1990's, the AAAD transformed into an umbrella organization of 17 different national sports organizations that make up the framework and family of present-day USADSF. Fleischer was a selfless, goal-oriented leader who had devoted all of his adult life towards the betterment of Deaf people’s lives, Deaf sports and Deaf education. He had always worked quietly behind the scene and was not one to seek the limelight. He believed that every individual’s contributions in any organization are important, and he actively included and empowered others to achieve their goals. He is survived by his wife, Vera (Pedersen) and one son, Flann Fleischer, both of Granada Hills, CA; one daughter, Flavia S. Fleischer, granddaughter, Ryssa B. Fleischer and son-in-law, Will Garrow all of Orem, UT; and two brothers, Michael Fleischer of New York City and Gerald Fleischer of Long Island, NY. His parents, Samuel and Rita Fleischer, preceded him in death. In accordance with his wishes, there will be no funeral. Information regarding a memorial service will be shared at a later date. The USADSF Executive Board will announce Fleischer's replacement as president of USADSF soon.