Fredric Schroeder

Fredric K. Schroeder is a research professor with San Diego State University working in the area of Vocational Rehabilitation. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Schroeder served as the ninth commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), having been appointed to this position in 1994 by President Clinton. As RSA Commissioner, Dr. Schroeder administered a 2.5 billion dollar program that annually provides services to more than 1 million people with disabilities. In the early 1980's, Dr. Schroeder helped establish the New Mexico Commission for the Blind. Beginning in 1986, Dr. Schroeder worked for eight years as the first Executive Director of the newly created Commission for the Blind where he was responsible for a variety of statewide services which helped blind people in the state acquire the skills and confidence to work and live normal, productive lives. Dr. Schroeder earned a Baccalaureate Degree in Psychology in 1977, a Master's Degree in Education in 1978, and completed postgraduate work in Orientation and Mobility in 1980. Dr. Schroeder was the first blind person in the nation to be admitted to a university program in orientation and mobility, although he was denied certification on the basis of blindness. Dr. Schroeder went on to earn a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of New Mexico in May, 1994.