Vale Pierre Patrick Gorman (1924–2006 )
[ UniNews Vol. 15, No. 19
16 - 30 October 2006 ]
Pierre Gorman was born in Melbourne to Sir Eugene and Marthe Gorman. He attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, taking the degrees of BAgSci and BEd in 1949 and 1951 before proceeding to Cambridge University where he graduated PhD in 1960. A normal enough education for many others, Pierre Gorman’s is remarkable because he was profoundly deaf from birth and the first with this disability to take such a degree from Cambridge.
Dr Gorman’s career reflected many aspects of his determination that people with disabilities, especially, although not exclusively, that of deafness, should be enabled to succeed in the open community.
In his occasional address at the University of Melbourne in 2000, following the conferment of the degree LLD honoris causa, Gorman expressed the hope that this would encourage further research “to determine how negative attitudes and behaviour towards disabilities and their owners can be reduced, or better still, eliminated”.
After graduating from Cambridge, Gorman worked with Sir Richard Paget on the Paget-Gorman sign system, and was appointed as the first information officer of the National Institute for the Deaf, eventually building its library into one of the world’s great resources on all aspects of speech and hearing.
He followed his leadership of the Policy Investigation Project of the Victorian School for Deaf Children by joining the Faculty of Education at Monash University, retiring in 1983.
At this point Gorman re-established his connection with the University of Melbourne, offering to the University Library his collection of books and pictorial works related to Cambridge.
The original 600 titles have swelled to more than 3000 pamphlets, periodicals and monographs on all aspects of Cambridge life. Some of the pictures may be seen in the School of Graduate Studies.
The Gorman Collection represents an extraordinary tribute to Pierre Gorman’s happy association with Cambridge University, especially Corpus Christi College. It provides Melbourne scholars with a unique resource.
Pierre Gorman died on his birthday, 1 October, 2006, at the age of 82.
With acknowledgement to 150 Years: 150 Stories, researched and compiled by Dr Juliet Flesch and Professor Peter McPhee. www.unimelb.edu.au/150/150people/gorman.html
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