MEDIA CONTACT:

Taiisha Pinkney

PR Manager

(410)319-5722

taiishap@mdschblind.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New President Starts July 28^th

Dr. Michael J. Bina Takes Leadership of MSB

Baltimore, MD-July 22, 2008: Dr. Michael J. Bina, new president of The Maryland School for the Blind (MSB), will take leadership, of the $22M nonprofit school for students who are blind, on July 28, 2008. The Board of Directors announced Dr. Bina’s the appointment back in May. Dr. Bina, nationally known and respected in the field of educating the visually impaired, comes to the School as former superintendent of Indiana School for the Blind, president of the Hadley School for the Blind and, most recently, as Superintendent of School Programs for Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA.

Dr. Bina holds a masters degree in Teaching of Visual Impairment and Orientation and Mobility from California State University-Los Angeles and a doctorate in Special Education Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Bina becomes the 12^th president of The Maryland School for the Blind since its founding in 1853.

The Maryland School for the Blind is a private, non-profit school dedicated to educating children and youth from infancy to age 21 who are blind, visually impaired and multiply disabled. Each year the school serves more than 800 students, nearly 200 on its campus in Baltimore, Maryland and the rest through its statewide outreach programs. In addition to traditional classroom education, The Maryland School for the Blind offers comprehensive services including braille and low-vision instruction, travel training, health and therapy services, and career education.