Biography

Burton Blatt was born in New York City on May 23, 1927, the son of Abraham and Jennie Starr Blatt. During WWII he served with the US Navy in the Philippine Islands.

He received his B.S. from New York University in 1949 and an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1950. During the summer and fall of 1950 he began his doctoral work and in 1955 was awarded both a Penn State graduate scholarship and teaching assistantship. He also received a New York State Regents Scholarship for Veterans, a Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children Scholarship, and an Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Scholarship. He graduated from Penn State in 1956.

In 1949 he began his career in education teaching English and Social Studies, and from 1950 to 1955 was a teacher of mentally retarded children, all for the New York City Board of Education.

After completing his doctorate in 1956, he was appointed an associate professor and Coordinator of Special Education at New Haven State Teachers College (later Southern Connecticut State College, now Southern Connecticut State University), and in 1959 was promoted to professor and Chair of the new Special Education Department. It was in 1957 at Connecticut when, with professor Seymour Sarason of Yale University, he helped create the first of three psycho-educational clinics. Other such settings were later developed at Boston University (1961) and Syracuse University (1969), a model described in his works with Professors Sarason and Frank Garfunkel of BU.

In 1961 he joined Boston University's School of Education as professor and chair of its Special Education Department. While at BU he held a clinical professorship in the Medical School's Psychiatry Department, participating in a program training psychiatrists for teaching.

He came to Syracuse University in 1969 as a professor of education and Director of the Division od Special Education and Rehabilitation. In 1971 he founded the Center on Human Policy with professors Douglas Biklen, Robert Bogdan and others. The Center is a policy, research, and advocacy organization involved in the national movement to insure the rights of people with disabilities. Blatt was named Dean of the Syracuse University School of Education on July 1, 1976.

Besides his teaching and administrative duties, Blatt served in a variety of capacities as consultant to federal agencies, state departments of welfare, education, mental health, and mental retardation; publishing firms, associations for retarded citizens, universities, and related organizations in New York, New England and other sections of the United States.

And through the years, he delivered a great many endowed, "distinguished", and other "named" lectures at major research universities and other scholarly institutions. He lectured at most major universities in the United States, as well as others in Canada and Europe.

He authored over 100 books and articles and is arguably best known for his "Christmas in Purgatory," a 1966 portrait of life in a mental institution. A follow-up was written in 1979 titled "The Family Papers: A Return to Purgatory."

Burton Blatt died after on January 20, 1985 after a short illness. He was 57 years of age.

SELECTED AWARDS, HONORS and SERVICE

1959 - appointed by Gov. Abraham Ribicoff to the first Connecticut State Advisory Council on Mental Retardation

1960-1961 - Connecticut state president of the Council for Exceptional Children

1962 - served at the requests of Governors Notte and Chafee as principal consultant to the Rhode Island Legislative Committee Studying the Education of Handicapped Youth

1963-1968 - engaged as senior consultant on mental retardation to the Prince Edward Island, Canada, Provincial Government

1963-1969 - principal consultant for the Connecticut Seaside Regional Center Plan to Reduce Institutionalization of the Retarded, supported by Public Health Service, National Institute of Health

1964 - first listed in Who's Who in America

1967 - presented with major annual award of the Massachusetts Psychological Association "for outstanding contributions to the advancement of psychology as a science, as a profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare."

1968 - received principal annual award from the Massachusetts Association for Retarded Children

1969 - presented the Outstanding Citizen Award from the Massachusetts Hampden County Association for Retarded Children

1969 - presented with special citation from Massachusetts Governor Francis W. Sargent on behalf of the citizens of Massachusetts in recognition of his service to the Commonwealth as Assistant Commissioner and Director of the Division of Mental Retardation, undertaken during a year's special leave of absence from Boston University

1969 - honored for his many contributions to the mentally retarded by his friends and co-workers at the Massachusetts Association for Retarded Children, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, and the Boston University School of Education

1970 - named one of six Syracuse University Centennial Professors in commemoration of the University's 100th Anniversary

1970 - served as Research Project Director, Massachusetts Study of Educational Opportunities for Handicapped and Disadvantaged Children, Massachusetts Advisory Council on Education

1970-1971 - president of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children

1971 - keynote speaker at the Indiana Association for Retarded Children Annual Convention

1971 - served as research consultant on special education to the New York State (Fleischman) Commission on the Quality, Cost and Financing of Elementary and Secondary Education

1972 - appeared as expert witness for the landmark Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens

1973 - Northeast Region of the American Association on Mental Deficiency (AAMD) presented him with its annual Education Award for his "significant contributions to the dissemination of knowledge in the field of mental retardation"

1973-1974 - chaired the Senior Consultant Panel and was a participant in the Systems Research Incorporated - Syracuse University Study of the Handicapped Effort in Head Start, Office of Child Development

1974 - selected by AAMD for the Association's National Humanitarian Award

1974 - presented with the Newell C. Kephart Memorial Award by Purdue University for "distinguished service to the handicapped citizens of Indiana and the United States of America"

1974 - appeared as expert witness for the historic Willowbrook Case

1974-1975 - member of the Onondaga County Special Legislative Commission Studying Mental Health and Mental Retardation

1976 - given award by the New York State Association of Teachers of Handicapped for outstanding contributions to the field of mental retardation

1976 - appointed by Gov. Hugh Carey of New York (re-appointed in 1980) to the Board of Visitors of the Syracuse Developmental Center

1976 - named Dean of the Syracuse University School of Education

1976-1977 - member of the Behavior Research Control Group of the Hastings Center Institute of Society, Ethics and the Life Sciences

1976-1977 - national president of the American Association on Mental Deficiency

1978-1980 - served as president of the Syracuse Developmental Center

1978 - appointed by State Education Commissioner Gordon Ambach to the Doctoral Council of the State of New York

1979-1982 - chaired panel of consultants to the Syracuse University-Upstate Medical Center (SUNY) "Early Education of the Handicapped" service and demonstration project

1980 - honored with award from the College of New Rochelle's Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children for "dedication to disfranchised individuals"

1981 - appointed by Lt. Gov. Mario Cuomo of New York to the Public Awareness Committee of the New York State Commission on the International Year of Disabled Persons

1981 - a founding member of "Operation Real Rights"

1980 - appointed by Gov. Hugh Carey of New York to his Conference on the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities and Infant Mortality

1982 - presented award of appreciation by the Orange Grove Center, Chattanooga, Tennessee

1982 - given special award by the Syracuse College for Living in recognition of Syracuse University's support of its work with developmentally disabled adults

1983 - keynote speaker and received Award of Appreciation from the New York State Association of Teachers of Handicapped

1983 - received annual award from the Pioneer Developmental Center of Chicopee, Massachusetts for outstanding efforts on behalf of mentally retarded citizens

1983 - honored by the Young Adult Institute and Workshop of New York with its annual advocacy and professional leadership award

1983 - keynote speaker at the Ohio Professional Association for Retardation

1983 - participated in several Town Hall meetings in New York and Florida which won an award for Syracuse University from the Ford Motor Company and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education for its alumni-relations program

1983 - appointed by New York Lt. Gov. Delbello to task force on "Aging-out" and the Handicapped

1984 - received award for support of the Arts in Education from Syracuse University School of Education

1984 - elected by colleagues at Syracuse University to deliver the J. Richard Street Memorial Lecture

1984 - invited to give lecture at the occasion honoring recipients of the Syracuse University Chancellor's Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement

1984-1985 - founding member of the Board of Trustees of the American Foundation on Mental Deficiency