Peter David Blanck (born 1957) is an American academic, psychologist, and lawyer who is the university professor and chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Early life and education

Blanck was born in

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead, New York, Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough ...

in 1957. He earned a bachelor's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1979, and a Ph.D. degree in

social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1982 under the supervision of Robert Rosenthal. In 1981, Blanck was awarded the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

’s

Psi Chi Psi Chi () is a college student honor society in psychology with international outreach founded in 1929 at the University of Kansas in the United States. Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States, with more than 1,100 chap ...

/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award.. After a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at

, Blanck earned a J.D. from the

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

in 1986. Blanck was elected President of the

Stanford Law Review The ''Stanford Law Review'' (SLR) is a legal journal produced independently by Stanford Law School students. The journal was established in 1948 with future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher as its first president. The review produce ...

.. He then served as a law clerk for Carl E. McGowan, judge on the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

. Thereafter, Blanck was a legal associate at the Washington D.C. law firm

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Known as a white-shoe law firm, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. The firm has addition ...

Academic career

Blanck returned to academia in 1990 as an associate professor of law at the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. History The law school was founded in 1865 by George Grover Wright and Chester C. Cole as an independent la ...

, adding a second professorship in psychology there in 1994. In 2002, he was named the Charles M. and Marion Kierscht Professor of Law.. In 2005, Blanck joined

as the University Professor. At Syracuse, he is the chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), which reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities with offices in Syracuse New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Georgia, and Lexington, Kentucky. In 2010, Blanck was appointed as an honorary professor at the Centre for Disability Law & Policy at National University Ireland, Galway.. In 2015, he won the Distinguished Service Award of NARRTC (formerly known as the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers), which is presented to "individuals who have made impressive contributions to the field of disability through research, teaching, service, or advocacy. The Distinguished Service Award is generally given for sustained contributions or an accumulation of life-time achievements. It is the highest recognition conferred by NARRTC."

Works

Blanck has written over 200 articles and books about the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws. He has received scores of millions of dollars in grants to study disability law and policy from federal and state entities, and from non-profits and foundations. His recent books include: *
Disability Law and Policy (2024).
2nd ed)'' *

' *
Disability Law and Policy (2020).
' *
Supported Decision-Making: From Justice for Jenny to Justice for All (with Jonathan Martinis, 2019).
' *
Supported Decision-Making: Theory, Research, and Practice to Enhance Self-Determination and Quality of Life (with Shogren, Wehmeyer, Martinis, 2019).
' *
Heavy Laden: Union Veterans, Psychological Illness, and Suicide (with Logue, 2018).
' *
e-Quality: The Struggle for Web Accessibility by People with Cognitive Disabilities (2014).
' *
Routledge Handbook of Disability Law and Human Rights (with Flynn, 2017).
' *
Genetic Discrimination–Transatlantic Perspectives on the Case for a European Level Legal Response (with Quinn & de Paor, 2015).
' *
People with Disabilities: Sidelined or Mainstreamed? (with Schur & Kruse, 2013).
'

* '' ttps://www.amazon.com/Disability-Rights-Policy-American-Casebook/dp/0314279768 Disability Civil Rights Law and Policy (with Myhill, Siegal, & Waterstone, 3d ed., 2013).' *
Race, Ethnicity, and Disability: Veterans and Benefits in Post-Civil War America (with Logue, 2010).
' Blanck served as an editor for the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

series Disability Law and Policy. Blanck was chairman of the American Psychological Association, Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology (CDIP) (2022-2023 ). He serves on the board of visitors for the Stanford Law School, at Stanford University. He has served on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Committee of Visitors (COV), for the Division of Social and Economic Sciences (SES). Blanck is chairman of the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC), and former president of Raising the Floor (RtF) USA. He is a former member of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, a former senior fellow of the Annenberg Washington Program, a former fellow at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

's Woodrow Wilson School, and has been a Mary Switzer Scholar.

Personal life

Blanck married Wendy Jo Kislik in 1983. They have four children. While at Rochester, Blanck lettered in squash over the four-year period, and was elected team co-captain as a junior and senior. In 2008, he was inducted to the University of Rochester Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanck, Peter David University of Rochester alumni People from Elmont, New York Stanford Law School alumni American activists Syracuse University faculty 1957 births Living people University of Iowa College of Law faculty Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni