Horace Mann, Ph.D., Buffalo State College distinguished service professor emeritus of Exceptional Education and pioneer in the field, has made his second $1 million gift to the college.



The gift was announced at Buffalo State's annual Peterson Society dinner, which honors donors who have made planned gifts to the college. This is Mann's second charitable gift annuity. His first was announced at the Peterson Society dinner last September.



Mann, an internationally known leader in the field and authority on exceptional education, retired from Buffalo State in 1992 after nearly 40 years of service. He is credited with turning what was a small exceptional education program when he arrived in 1953 into one of the largest undergraduate and master's degree programs of its type in the United States.



"Hank Mann is a legend at Buffalo State College. In addition to his legacy in exceptional education, he continues to teach us, by example, what a human being should be. We are grateful for everything he has done for Buffalo State, including his remarkable gifts," said Muriel A. Howard, Ph.D., president of Buffalo State College.



"I was part of an exemplary department," Mann said of the exceptional education program. "When I came, there were three faculty members and seven students. Look at us now," he said.



"When you work with people in the service areas, you learn a lot about yourself. And in learning about yourself, you have really been given a gift. I find that giving is a journey, not a destination - a journey with many destinations. You're so enriched by the giving.



"For Jews, Rosh Hashanah is a time for charity. The Book of Our Fathers said God will give you 10 days to add to the book that God will judge you on," he said in referring to the announcement of his gift several days before the Jewish holiday.



Mann has worked tirelessly to improve services for people with disabilities and to make communities better understand the needs and capabilities of those with developmental disabilities.



At the time of his retirement, his colleagues established a scholarship in his name.



He has been a board member of or a consultant for many state and national agencies concerned with individuals with special needs, having served as president of the American Association on Mental Retardation and of the Foundation for Exceptional Children. In 1965 he was invited to the White House for the signing of a major bill on mental retardation.



This year, Mann received the Distinguished Alumnus Medal from Brooklyn College. He holds numerous honors, including the 1996 Burton Blatt Humanitarian Award, given by the Division on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Council for Exceptional Children to an individual "who has exerted exceptional effort in furthering the cause of persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities." In 1998 he received the Distinguished Educator Award of the American Association on Mental Retardation, and in 1997, a State University of New York honorary doctorate of humane letters.



Mann holds bachelor of arts degrees in sociology and psychology from Brooklyn College, a master's degree in history from Columbia University and a doctorate in special education from Pennsylvania State University - the first such degree granted there.



He has lectured widely, and served on panels and consulted in Austria, China, India, Israel, Italy and Kenya. In 1988, he received the first distinguished service award of the International Council for Exceptional Children's Teacher Education Division, and in 1990, a New York State/United University Professions Excellence Award. Last April, he was awarded the Council for Exceptional Children's Romaine Mackie Award for Leadership and Service.