Mervin "Merv" Donald Garretson (July 25, 1923 – January 9, 2013[1]) was an American educator, leader, and deaf community rights advocate.
[2][3] He received his early education from the Colorado School for the Deaf and his bachelor's degree from Gallaudet College, Washington D.C. in 1947.
[6] Garretson died on January 9, 2013 (aged 89 years), of complications of pneumonia at the Leesburg Regional Medical Center in Summerfield, Florida.
He returned to Gallaudet in 1970 to serve as the principal of the newly formed Model Secondary School for the Deaf.
From 1971 to 1991, Garretson served as the international president of the Commission on Pedagogy; he was the first deaf person to hold this position.
His notable works include [11][12] Garretson played a vital role in highlighting issues regarding deaf education.
He was a special assistant to four Gallaudet presidents to serve deaf education directives and worked to help American Sign Language gain academic recognition.
[14][10][15][16] To honor his contributions to deaf education, Gallaudet University established the Mervin D. and Carol J. Garretson Scholarship Fund.