An honorary doctor of humane letters degree was awarded to Knud Søndergaard at Commencement on May 15, 2009. Since 1982, Søndergaard has served as president of the Center for Døve, a national institute in Denmark with programs and services for deaf individuals. He recently retired as president of the Danish Deaf Association, and he is a board member of Døvefonden, a foundation that raises funds to support the deaf association, organizations for deaf people, and deaf individuals. In addition, he is a former president of the European Union of the Deaf, an honorary life member and former secretary general of the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, and finance officer for the World Federation of the Deaf.