Moments of Truth: Robert R. Davila, the Story of a Deaf Leader

by Oscar P. Cohen

Withstanding childhood poverty in a migrant farming family and an illness in 1943 at age 11 that left him profoundly deaf, Robert R. Davila persevered to become one of the first deaf persons in history to earn a doctorate. He did so at a time when interpreting in higher education had not yet become a professional support service. Davila worked unfailingly to achieve positions of stature as vice president of Gallaudet University, the president of three major deaf education organizations, and the seeming culmination of his career as the highest appointed deaf official ever in the U.S. government at the Department of Education. Yet, after this government service, he returned to his field to achieve another series of firsts. He served as Headmaster of the New York School for the Deaf at White Plains for three years, and as the first deaf chief executive officer of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology for seven years. Then, in 2006, Bob Davila was invited to assume the presidency of Gallaudet University in a time of crisis.
Moments of Truth summarizes a series of defining experiences that enabled Davila to rise to the pinnacle of his profession as an educator. This book is not merely a roadmap on how he achieved such honors it is an inspiring tale of self-discovery and resilience appealing to all who face overwhelming odds, especially deaf children who are sure to be encouraged by his pioneering legacy.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 18, 2008

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book about Davila and (so far) his very long and full life. I am in awe of his work ethic and honestly, this man should be held up as a role model to the Deaf community. I don't think there has been any other Deaf person who has held so many leadership positions. The book goes through his life step by step through defining points from the day his father died to the day he was inducted as Gallaudet's ninth president. Davila is one of those lucky few that had deafness be a good thing in his life as it sent him down a very different path than anyone else in his family. How odd it is to have someone rank as an assistant secretary in the Department of Education of the United States who is the brother of a electrician? I do realize that while deafness set Davila down a path to more education than the rest of his family, it was the work ethic instilled in him by his family that got him so far. I do wish he had written an essay on what exactly was his work ethic and how it made him so successful.

[MaryKay]

p. 19 The decision to send me to the California School for the Deaf was painful to my mother. She told me so. Since CSD was a “residential” school, I would have to live there ten months out of the year. She said it was for my own good and not because she did not love me. She asked me to be good and to respect my teachers. That was it … This send-off admonition became a permanent memory and I was always mindful of her parting words.

p.121 (Concerning Bob's appointment to be the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) in the Department of Education under President George H. W. Bush) Bob’s 87-year-old-mother … Soledad didn’t understand the intricacies of the term “assistant secretary” and for awhile she thought Bob had somehow been demoted.

p.168 "... give a little more than you take without compromising your principles."

[Grace]

I met Robert Davila last night. He had such an amazing and inspirational story to tell. *I must read this book*