By RALEY TALIAFERRO
Staff Writer

Joanne Wilson, the 10th commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, will speak at the upcoming winter commencement at 2 p.m. March 1 in the Thomas Assembly Center.
Commissioner Wilson was appointed to her position in 2001 by President George W. Bush to administer a program that provides services to people with disabilities.
ÒI am absolutely delighted to have Commissioner Wilson as our speaker,Ó Tech President Dr. Dan Reneau said.
ÒShe is a person of distinguished accomplishment for this community, this university and this nation.Ó
Wilson founded the Louisiana Center for the Blind in Ruston located at 101 S. Trenton St., and before her appointment to commissioner, she developed and oversaw the daily administration of the LCB.
This was LouisianaÕs first adult independent-living center for the blind.
WilsonÕs dedication to improving rehabilitation and education services in Louisiana steered her to establish eight additional programs in the state.
These programs were generated to heighten the employment possibilities of LouisianaÕs blind citizens. 
ÒIÕve known Joanne since 1990,Ó Pam Allen, director of the LCB, said. 
ÒCommissioner Wilson is truly a pioneer and a visionary. Her tireless dedication to help improve the lives of blind people has touched the lives of thousands of people around the country.
ÒI am honored to call her my friend and colleague. She has served as a role model and mentor for her staff and students.Ó
Wilson graduated with honors from Iowa State University in Ames in 1969.
There she earned a bachelorÕs degree of science in elementary education and was named a Merrill Palmer Scholar.
In 1971 she received a masterÕs degree in guidance and counseling/administration from Iowa State and later taught in the Ames public school system for a number of years.
According to information provided by ReneauÕs office, Wilson considers her own rehabilitation training at the Iowa Commission for the Blind the method which changed her life and the driving force that led her to establish a training facility for serving the nationÕs blind.
ÒShe is a very determined person who has set high goals and achieved them,Ó Dr. Ron Ferguson, a research fellow for the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness, said. 
ÒShe is a very accomplished woman who is able to inspire others to follow her, and she is certainly a remarkable lady with a determined drive to benefit disabled people in the area.Ó
Wilson, a regular public speaker, is often called upon to lecture rehabilitation professionals and educators.