Anne Carlsen

SCANDINAVIAN-AMERICAN HALL OF FAME
1988 INDUCTEE

A bronze statue of Dr. Anne Carlsen with a handicapped student was unveiled in front of the Anne Carlsen School in Jamestown in 1985. The statue symbolizes Carsen’s many varied contributions in helping handicapped people make better lives for themselves.

Carlsen, who was born severely handicapped herself, has never let her handicaps stop her from meeting the goals she set. Born in Grantsburg, WI, Nov. 4, 1915, she worked hard to overcome her difficulties. She graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota, and went on to obtain her master’s degree from Northern University of Colorado and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Delta Phi Lamda and Psi Chi, all honorary scholastic societies.

She taught at St. Paul, MN and Fargo before becoming a high school teacher at the Crippled Children’s School in Jamestown. She served as principal, child guidance director and then administrator from 1950 to 1981. Today she works as a consultant for the school.

Her awards, which are numerous, include the National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities, Good Shepherd Home Hall of Fame, Woman of Conscience for 1981, Greater North Dakota Award for outstanding service, Courage Award for improving attitudes and providing services for handicapped, Service to Mankind from Sertoma International, Bicentennial Woman in History, the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, Humanitarian Award, Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, and the President’s Trophy for Handicapped American of the Year, and most recently, her induction in the Scandinavian Hall of Fame this year.

She holds honorary degrees in the doctor of humane letters from UND and Wartburg College at Waverly, IA, and in doctor of laws from Jamestown College.

She has written several articles on the handicapped for regional and national publications. In addition, she has served on numerous statewide and national committees, including the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped from 1959 to the present. She is also currently a member of the North Dakota Advisory Committee on Sheltered Workshops, the Jamestown Mayor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, the North Dakota Psychological Association, the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Rehabilitation Association and the North Dakota Mental Health Association.

Although her accomplishments have been many, her greatest are the individual children whose lives she has touched at the school that bears her name.