Leaders & Legends

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
Updated June 12, 2025

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field, housed in the Migel Library at the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) in Louisville, Kentucky, honors the trailblazers who have dedicated their careers to improving the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired. These inductees are not only celebrated for their historical contributions but also for their lasting influence on how we understand education, accessibility, and independence for individuals with visual impairments.

Mission of the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame’s mission is twofold:

To preserve and honor the accomplishments of exceptional individuals whose life’s work has helped shape the field of blindness and visual impairment.
To educate and inspire current and future professionals by telling the stories of those who have pioneered advances in accessibility, education, research, and advocacy.

Located inside the Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind, the Hall of Fame is part of a broader effort to share the educational history of blind and visually impaired individuals through hands-on, accessible exhibits and rare artifacts. It is a must-visit for educators, students, and advocates in the blindness field.

What Makes a “Leader or Legend”? – Nomination Criteria

To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, nominees must meet these criteria:

Significant, long-term contributions in areas such as:
- Direct service
- Research and innovation
- Professional leadership
- Educational practice
- Publishing or writing influential works
Candidates must have concluded their primary body of work (typically retired or at least five years removed from their active roles).
Must be based in North America, which includes the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

APH Hall of Fame

Below are some of the pictures I took during my recent visit to the APH Hall of Fame.

plaques of Susan Jay Spungin, Frank H. Hall, William B. Wait, Robert Smithdas, Randall T. Jose, Charles Frederick Fraser

plaques of inductees Roy Kumpe, J. Max Woolly, William A. Hadley, Stanley Suterko, Newel Perry, and Michael T. Collins

plaques of inductees Mary Elizabeth Switzer, Kathern Gruber, Richard Edwin Hoover, and Russell Williams

plaques of inductees Fr. Thomas Carroll, Peter J. Salmon, Cleo Dolan, Louis H. Rives, Jr.

plaques of inductees Kenneth Jernigan, Durward K. McDaniel, Eleanor E. Faye, MD, C. Warren Bledsoe, Phil Hatlen, Pete Wurzburger

plaques of inductees Natalie Carter Barraga, Everett "Butch" Hill, Dean W. Tuttle, Berthold Lowenfeld, Francis J. Campbell, Alan J. Koenig

plaques of inductees Sally Mangold, Richard L. Welsh, Sally Rogow, Edward Ellis Allen, Euclid J. Herie, Edwin Albert Baker

plaques of inductees Martha Morrow Foxx, Laurence C. Jones, Abraham Nemeth, Arnall Patz, Robert Whitstock, Morris Frank

plaques of inductees William H. English, Alice Geisler Raftary, Ruth Kaarlela, Louis Vieceli

plaques of inductees Mary K. Bauman, Josephine Lister Taylor, Douglas Inkster, John Robert Atkinson

APH Hall of Fame Inductees page

Learn more about each of the inductees by reading their biographies on the APH website.

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