2:58 p.m., Oct. 29, 2008----Cynthia Primo Martin, a UD alumnus and member of the University of Delaware Board of Trustees, and Timothy F. Brooks, former dean of students and currently a disability specialist and faculty member at UD, are the recipients of the 2008 Gerald E. Kandler Memorial Award from the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Delaware.

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The awards were presented during the annual Gerald E. Kandler Memorial Award Dinner, held Oct. 15 at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington.

As president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware from 1971 until his death in 1985, Kandler was a defender of civil liberties and a strong advocate of free public education for all handicapped children.

Martin received her bachelor of arts degree in English and a master's of education in reading from UD. She is the founder and CEO of the Trustees of Color initiative. Its mission is to establish a sustainable process to ensure that Delaware's nonprofit boards are inclusive of people of color.

“I believe that all people should have a chance to come to the table, and I worked to include people of color on the boards of nonprofit organizations,” Martin said. “I have devoted a lot of my life to doing that, to make sure that we have a diverse representation in these areas.”

A member on the UD Trustee Committee on Public Affairs and Advancement, Martin was the first woman officer of color at Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Co., in Hartford, Conn. Before retiring from corporate life, Martin served as vice president of fund development, marketing and public relations and interim president for Ingleside Homes.

Currently, Martin is a senior associate at Bloom Consulting, which provides guidance to nonprofit organizations in strategic fundraising and management for clients across the nation.

Brooks has served on the Board of the Delaware ACLU for the past 15 years. Issues in which he has been involved include the death penalty, women's reproductive rights, students' civil liberties, search and seizure on campus and the appropriate treatment of persons with disabilities.

“I found my involvement with the ACLU to be extremely helpful when I was dean of students at UD, especially in the area of civil liberties,” Brooks said. “I am deeply honored to receive the Gerald Kandler Award from the ACLU of Delaware.”

In his work with the Center for Disabilities Studies in the College of Human Resources, Education and Public Policy, Brooks has concentrated on expanding support for families and caregivers who assist an individual with severe disabilities.

Currently serving on nine disability boards in the state, Brooks said that he is especially appreciative of receiving the award because of the man for whom it is named and the work Kandler did in the 1970s to ensure that children with severe disabilities had a right to a public education.

“My wife and I have a son with severe disabilities who would not have been able to go to school if it were not for the efforts of advocates like Mr. Kandler,” Brooks said. “His example of advocacy for persons with disabilities has served me well in my attempts to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities in Delaware.”

Brooks received the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Delaware State Council for Persons with Disabilities. He got his is bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, a master's from Pacific Lutheran University and a doctorate in education from Oregon State University.

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo courtesy of ACLU of Delaware