Date
6-14-2008
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Length
23:46
Original Description
Richard Pimentel received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters and delivered the commencement address at Portland State University's 2008 Commencement ceremony, June 14, 2008.
PSU President Michael Reardon introduces Pimentel and presents him with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. PSU Provost Roy Koch gives closing remarks.
Notes
Richard Pimentel is a disability rights advocate, public speaker, and trainer who contributed to the passage and enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He has developed programs that have assisted numerous public and private employers in creating jobs and integrating people of all abilities into places of work.
Pimentel served in the Vietnam War and returned from the conflict nearly completely deaf. With support from a veterans' rehabilitation grant and from PSU Speech Communication faculty Ben Padrow, he attended Portland State University. His life's work began when, as a student at PSU, he developed a disability training program for supervisors as a sociology class project.
On the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2020, Pimentel discussed his time at PSU and pandemic challenges: https://bit.ly/2K6ee3G
Pimentel was also interviewed by Portland State Magazine in 2021 about his experience as a Vietnam War veteran: https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/36527
Original Format
DVD
Rights
This digital access copy is made available as streaming media for personal, educational, and non-commercial use only. It cannot be reproduced in any form, distributed or played for commercial purposes. It is made accessible because of one or more of the following situations: the rights are owned by State Board of Higher Education, on behalf of Portland State University; Portland State University has permission to make it accessible; it is made accessible for education and research purposes under fair use ; or there are no known restrictions on use. In the event that previously unknown information is shared that may change the status of this item, it will be immediately removed from public view until pertinent rights issues are clarified.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38250
Recommended Citation
Pimentel, Richard, "2008 Commencement Address" (2008). Commencement. 6.
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38250
Full text of address (.pdf file)
Description
This recording was transferred to .mp4 format from DVD video.
Portland State University Archives holds historical materials related to most PSU commencement ceremonies including programs, photographs, and audio or video recordings. These materials can be made available as searchable, downloadable streaming media in this collection by request.
For more information or to make a research appointment, please contact us at specialcollections@pdx.edu.