Fiscal year 2010

Awards & Honors

• Katie Arnold, Director of Community Education for IDHD, was awarded the Young Nonprofit Professional of the Year award at a celebration February 24 at the Chicago Cultural Center. This award recognizes a young nonprofit professional who has made an outstanding contribution to the Chicago nonprofit sector through exemplary leadership and dedication.
• Kate Caldwell, MA, PhD Student, was awarded the 8th Annual Ann and Edward Page-El, MD Scholarship Award in May 2009.
• Lennard Davis, Ph.D., DHD, English, and Medical Education Professor, was awarded a UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Distinguished Professorship in September 2009.  This title recognizes "a continuous record of distinguished scholarly activity, receipt of national or international awards, and significant recognition from outside the university." 
• Julie Kujawa, M.S. student in DHD, accepted an internship at Centro Ann Sullivan Del Peru (CASP), one of the most recognized and internationally renowned educational institutions for young people with disabilities in Peru, from August through September, 2009.
• Ann Cutler, M.D., developmental pediatrician and coordinator for the Zero to Three Program and Director of the Illinois LEND, received a special tribute during a luncheon at the ILAIMH 28th Annual Conference, the Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love and the Meaning of Life in October 2009.
• Tamar Heller, Ph.D., DHD/IDHD Director and Kristen Connolly, M.S.W., LEND Co-Director and Community Support Coordinator received the “Community Support Services, Inc. Partnership Award” in October 2009. The award letter stated: “Your engagement with CSS exemplifies our spirit and mission of providing services for people with developmental disabilities and their families, emphasizing independence, self-esteem, and partnership.”
• Kiyoshi Yamaki, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor, was elected as the Program Chair of the Disability Section of the American Public Health Association in September, 2009.
• Jennifer Rowland, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, was accepted to the NIH Mentor Program: Intensive Workshop on Grant Writing, Preparation, and Submission in Rehabilitation Research in November 2009.
• Tia Nelis, Self-Advocacy Specialist, developed and conducted the Advanced Leadership Academy in which more experienced self-advocates provided leadership training to emerging leaders. It was funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, US DHHS, in December 2009.
• Robin Jones, Director of the Great Lakes ADA Center, was appointed to the Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities Task Force, Office of the Governor of Illinois, in February 2010.
• Glenn T. Fujiura, Ph.D., Associate Professor, was appointed to the 16 member Committee on the External Evaluation of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in February 2010.
• Tamar Heller, Ph.D., was invited to serve as a member of Chicago's 2010 Census Complete Count Committee.
• Ann Cutler, M.D., received the 2010 Autism Ally for Medicine Award from the Arc/Autism Project of Illinois (TAP) in April 2010. Ann's “experience and work with LEND trainees ensures that the dedication, compassion and commitment continue to influence future generations of people and programs for persons with autism and developmental disabilities.”
• Fabricio Balcazar, Ph.D., Professor, received the Charter Fellow Award from the Midwest Psychological Association in April 2010in recognition of significant and unusual contributions to the science of psychology.

Media

• In December 2009, Lennard Davis, Ph.D., discussed his latest book "Go Ask Your Father" during an interview with MPR. The complete article is available here.
• In March 2010, Mary Kay Rizzolo, Ph.D., Associate Director, IDHD, was featured in a Medill Reports story entitled “Illinois could save millions by reforming developmentally disabled services.” The complete article is available here.
• Tamar Heller, Ph.D., President, Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and Director of the IDHD, issued an AUCD Press Statement in March 2010 entitled “House Action on Health Care Reform Will Have Major Positive Impact on People with Disabilities and Families, in March 2010.The complete article is available here.
• The Chicago Tribune ran a feature story on Carrie Sandahl, Ph.D., Associate Professor, in March 2010 -- Dr. Sandahl talks about Chicago with the wide-eyed wonder of a newcomer. She's enthralled by the cultural energy, the varieties of educational programs for kids and families and the on-going opportunities for new talent, especially artists with disabilities. The complete article is available here.
• In a column appearing on HuffingtonPost.com in January 2010, Lennard Davis, Ph.D., grades the first year of his former student, President Barack Obama. The complete article is available here.
• Tamar Heller, Ph.D., was featured in the San Antonio Express News story "Life is tough when sibling has disability" in August 2009. The complete article is available here.
• Amy Rauworth, M.S., R.C.E.P., Associate Director of DHD's National Center on Physical Activity and Disability was featured in Disabilityscoop in August 2009. “Get Fit: A Happier, Healthier You” discusses fitness for people with disabilities. The complete article is available here.

Grants

• Glenn Hedman, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Assistive Technology Unit, was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to implement “Project SDD: Stair Descent Device Performance for Firefighters.”
• Sarah Parker, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, was funded by the UIC Chancellor's Discovery Fund, Research Development, to implement a project entitled “Participation through Innovation: Social entrepreneurship as a pathway to employment for people with disabilities."
• Kelly Hsieh, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor and Associate Director for Evaluation, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with Developmental Disabilities, received funding from the NIH funded Roybal Center on Health Maintenance, Center for Research on Health and Aging, UIC, to implement a falls prevention project for adults with intellectual disabilities.
• James Rimmer, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Center for Health Promotion Research, received funding from the University of Montana for a grant entitled “Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Individuals with Disabilities Living in Rural Areas.” The purpose of the RRTC program is to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 through advanced research, training, technical assistance, and dissemination activities such as activities that are designed to benefit rehabilitation service providers, individuals with disabilities, and the family members or other authorized representatives of individuals with disabilities.
• Kiyoshi Yamaki, Ph.D., received funding from the Illinois Department of Public Health to implement the project “Illinois Disability and Health Program H1N1 Vaccine Implementation Plan.”
• Tamar Heller, Ph.D., received funding from the TAP project of Illinois to provide diagnostic and family support services for individuals with autism and their families.
• James Rimmer, Ph.D., received funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to implement the project “Improving Health Care Quality through Health IT for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.”
• Kiyoshi Yamaki, Ph.D., received funding from the Shimizu Foundation, Japan, to implement the project “Developmental Disabilities Services in Illinois: Workshop for Direct Support Professionals."
• Fabrcio Balcazar, Ph.D., received funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services (Stimulus Funds) to implement the project “A Quality Assurance Model for VR Service Delivery.” The project assesses and improves the way the Department of Rehabilitation Services staff use data as a basis for making decisions about policies and practices, programmatic operations, and overall management of the vocational rehabilitation (VR) services in the state.
• Glenn Hedman received funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services (Stimulus Funds) for the following projects:
  • “Vehicle Replacement and Evaluation Equipment”
  • “Assistive Technology Certificate Program for VR Counselors”
• James Rimmer, Ph.D., received supplemental funding for the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and disseminate web-based health promotion materials.
• Paul Bennett, Ph.D., received funding from the Illinois Department on Aging to provide leadership to its project “Cash and Counseling: My Choices."

Theses and Dissertations Defended

The following students successfully defended their doctoral dissertations:

• Michael Gill, “Intellectual Disability and Sexuality: Challenging Paternalism, Harm Reduction, and Incompetence.”
• Mansha Parven Qamar Husain Mirza, “Global ethnography with disabled refugees: Combining individual narratives with systems and policy analysis.”
• Elizabeth Lockwood, “Deaf Community Mobilization in Uruguay.”
• Supriya Raman, “Lived Experience of Walking in People with Multiple Sclerosis.”

The following students successfully defended their Master's thesis

• Abigail Schindler, “Healing narratives and disabilities: Case studies with missionary church pastors.”
• Jessica M. Madrigal, “Establishing Play Area Design Guidelines for Children of All Abilities Using the Delphi Method.”
• Maureen P. O'Malley, “The Impact of Aided Language Stimulation on Symbol Comprehension and Production in Early Intervention.”

Alumni

• Ann Cameron Caldwell, Ph.D., received funding from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement the project “Easter Seals Family Support Training Initiative.” This project will implement national training modules for families of children with disabilities of any age and individuals with disabilities and to advance family support leadership and outcomes.
• Ann Cameron Caldwell, Ph.D., accepted a new position as Chief Research and Innovations Officer with The Arc of the United States. She will be responsible for advancing The Arc's mission through leading innovative growth and outcome opportunities in partnership with public agencies and philanthropic organizations and implementing effective organizational metrics and knowledge management practices.
• Michael Gill, Ph.D., accepted a new position with the Women's Studies Program at the University of Connecticut as an Assistant Professor in Residence starting in the Fall of 2010.
• Denise Nepveux, Ph.D., accepted a new position as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at Syracuse University, starting in the Summer of 2010.

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