Hosted by the , the , the , the , and the , these events follow the highly successful on Oct. 3.

Included in National Disability Employment Awareness Month is the “Disability Poetics Launch” featuring panelists (from left to right): Meg Day, Kenny Fries, Cyree Jarelle Johnson, Stephen Kuusisto and Naomi Ortiz.

“The events we have highlighted this month showcase the disabled experience in college and beyond, and also deliver resources to faculty and staff on how to create a truly inclusive campus,” says , professor of inclusive education and director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion.

“We are fortunate to have a strong coalition of offices, centers and institutes at Syracuse working every day to bring more awareness, opportunities and resources.”

The campus community is invited to engage in all opportunities, including the following events:

Oct. 10, 3-4 p.m. EDT
Location: Virtual (See event details)

Oct. 12, 9-9:15 a.m.
Location: 347 Hinds Hall

Oct. 13, 3:30-5 p.m.
Location: 306 Steele Hall

Oct. 18, 5-7 p.m.
Whitman School of Management, Milton Room 411

Oct. 19, 9-10:15 a.m.
101 Crouse-Hinds Hall

Oct. 24, 2-3:15 p.m. EDT
Virtual

Oct. 26, 9-10:15 a.m.
247 Crouse-Hinds Hall

For more information about National Disability Employment Awareness Month, visit the Office of Disability Employment Policy .

For more information about accessibility and varied disability programs, services and resources at Syracuse University, visit .

Students in the University’s InclusiveU program participated in Family Weekend activities in 2019.

Aligned with the on Dec. 3, Ashby and Myers walked through the center’s priorities and projects’ impact on campus, in Central New York and globally.

“The CDI works to address systemic challenges and further the progress towards creating a more inclusive world for people with disabilities in all aspects of school and society, both locally and globally,” Ashby says. “Presenting at a forum like the Thursday Morning Roundtable really helps us move the mark forward by spreading awareness about the work we are doing, and engage more people in the conversation.”

Located in the School of Education, the CDI is a disability-related research center that also serves community engagement, technical assistance and advocacy functions through collaborations with related centers, including the , the and the .

Ashby is a professor of inclusive special education and disability and director of the CDI. Myers is the Lawrence B. Taishoff Professor of Inclusive Education, executive director of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education and assistant director of the CDI.

Now in its 56th season, Thursday Morning Roundtable features speakers who discuss current topics in Central New York and beyond.

State Senator John Mannion (center) speaks with InclusiveU students and faculty with the School of Education.

, a program that helps students with intellectual and developmental disabilities attend Syracuse University, will receive $100,000 in the 2021-2022 New York State budget. Earlier this month, State Senator John Mannion visited the School of Education’s (CDI), which houses the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education and InclusiveU, and congratulated them on the restoration of funding.

At the visit, School of Education Dean Joanna Masingila; CDI Director and Associate Professor Christine Ashby; and CDI Assistant Director and Lawrence B. Taishoff Professor of Inclusive Education Beth Myers spoke with Senator Mannion about the systemic challenges that people with intellectual disability face throughout their lifetime, from early childhood through adulthood.

“The new Center on Disability and Inclusion is uniquely positioned to build these types of collaborative relationships with our representatives,” says Masingila. “With the deep roots of the existing centers, including the Center on Human Policy, we have the resources and expertise to drive important conversations around quality of life.”

Professor Christine Ashby agrees. “Funding and legislation at our local, state and national levels directly impact the lives of the disability community. It could mean the addition of support services. It could mean we can accept more students into InclusiveU or expand our inclusive education program. It could mean an additional school district receives access to trainings from our .”

State Senator John Mannion, School of Education Dean Joanna Masingila; Center on Disability and Inclusion Director and Associate Professor Christine Ashby; and CDI Assistant Director and Lawrence B. Taishoff Professor of Inclusive Education Beth Myers

The visit concluded with a networking session with Mannion and a group of InclusiveU students, where the senator chatted about his lifelong love of the Syracuse Orange and his background in education. Students shared stories of their internship sites on campus, art-work and favorite classes.

“InclusiveU had fourteen students in 2015. This fall we are expecting over one hundred,” says Myers. “We are so grateful for funding from the state, which helps us increase our support services to ensure our students have access to all of the opportunities that campus has to offer during their time at Syracuse.”

InclusiveU’s Delvon Waller presents on what’s it like to be in college at the national State of the Art Conference on Inclusive Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disability.

Bringing together decades of leadership into one collaborative center, the School of Education has announced the new (CDI). Formed to advance inclusive education and disability rights, and promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of school and society, the center is a strategic collaboration between the Lawrence B. Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education, the Center on Human Policy, the Inclusion and Communication Initiatives (ICI) and the newly established Mid-State Partnership and Pre-Employment Transition Programs.

Christine Ashby, associate professor of inclusive education and disability studies, and director of the ICI, has been named director of the new center with Beth Myers, Lawrence B. Taishoff Assistant Professor of inclusive education and director of the Taishoff Center, serving as assistant director. The collaboration makes it easier to seek grants, share resources and expertise, and broaden the reach of each individual center.

Christine Ashby

While maintaining a strong research focus and deep connection to academic programs in inclusive education and disability studies, the CDI also leads efforts in community engagement, technical assistance and advocacy functions through dedicated projects in schools and communities in upstate New York.

Through the Mid-State Partnership, early childhood agencies and school districts are receiving technical assistance from the same center that is conducting research, teacher education, inclusive classroom practices and disability rights work.

“One of the big differences in how we are working to advance inclusion is through greater connection to public schools,” Ashby says. “Looking at issues impacting inclusion across the life span, from childhood through adulthood and through many different lenses of educational access, communication, disability rights and advocacy, it’s clear that we have to be close partners with school systems to help them bring about change. We need to push from the outside and from the inside. That is how we will best accomplish systems change.”

InclusiveU “OnCampus” graduate Lorenzo Davis at 2018 School of Education Convocation

The center will formally celebrate the launch at the upcoming Orange Central with a School of Education virtual gathering of staff, alumni and supporters to discuss how CDI is uniquely positioned to carry forward the legacy of decades of leadership in research, policy and pedagogy with and for people with disabilities.

“I’m excited to see the Center on Disability and Inclusion in place as it builds on the SOE’s long legacy of work in these areas and will allow for even more strength as it brings multiple groups together under the CDI umbrella,” says Joanna Masingila, dean of the School of Education. “I look forward to the local, state, national and international leadership of SOE faculty and staff through the center.”

Professor Ashby says she is excited to bring these pieces together. “Everyone is realizing the need for more collaborative and intersectional approaches.”

The CDI’s work is supported by grant funding from the New York State Department of Education, The Taishoff Family Foundation, ACCES-VR and the U.S. Department of Education.

Jayson McDowel, program director of the Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)

The School of Education has secured a $1.5 million grant from the New York State Education Department to serve students with disabilities transitioning to adulthood. Students in the state who have a disability have a much lower rate of high school graduation than their peers without. The numbers of students with disabilities living independently and entering the workforce are also significantly lower than their non-disabled peers. The new Syracuse University Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) hopes to improve these outcomes over the next five years through community partnerships and support services, specifically focusing on underserved youth with disabilities in Central New York.

Associate Professor of Inclusive Education and Disability Studies Christine Ashby and Lawrence B. Taishoff Assistant Professor of Inclusive Education Beth Myers are co-principal investigators on the grant. They were successful in securing the Pre-ETS Initiative at Syracuse by leveraging the depth of experience that the School of Education has in working with and advocating for students with disabilities at all levels, from early childhood through post-secondary.

The $1.5 million grant for the Pre-ETS Initiative is in addition to the recent $9 million in grant funds the School of Education received from the New York State Education Department’s Office of Special Education (OSE). The Pre-ETS Initiative is facilitated by the same NYS Office of Special Education Partnership.

By providing early support to students with disabilities in secondary, post-secondary, non-traditional or alternative education programs as well as traditionally underserved students (students in foster care, juvenile detention or with refugee or immigrant status) the Pre-ETS team will build a pipeline for students to continue to access long-term services and resources into adulthood.

“We are thrilled to have received this funding,” says Myers. “We are looking forward to building the Pre-ETS team and charting pathways to success for students.”

New Pre-ETS Program Director Jayson McDowell is excited about the potential impact this grant can have on students in the community. “Providing early access to career exploration and work experiences is linked to higher outcomes of students graduating high school, attending post-secondary education and training programs, and higher rates of employment,” he says. “I look forward to working with our school districts, community partners, Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) and, of course, the students.”

McDowell and Pre-ETS staff are developing recruitment and referral systems with the goal of enrolling at least 250 students annually into the service. In collaboration with many school districts in the region and community partners, they will conduct needs assessments with all enrolled students and then provide targeted services in up to five areas related to pre-employment transition, including job exploration counseling, counseling on post-secondary opportunities, work-based readiness and independent living skills, work-based learning and self-advocacy. These services will be individualized depending on student need and provided individually and in small groups at locations convenient for students and families.

The grant contracts will support the development of the Mid-State Regional Partnership Center and two Family and Community Engagement Centers (early childhood and school aged), and will be housed in the School of Education. The capacity-building projects will bring a community of practitioners together to support teachers, administrators, students and families in 51 school districts to improve graduation rates and post-school outcomes for students with disabilities.

Beth Myers, Christine Ashby, and Alan Foley, School of Education faculty members and directors of research and service centers dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities in schools and the community through inclusion, are the co-principal investigators on the grants.

“There are pockets of work occurring around the state to improve special education outcomes and facilitate better communication between parents, teachers and districts,” says Christy Ashby, associate professor of inclusive special education and disability. “This grant creates a unified strategy to support systems change in all schools,” she adds.“I am thrilled that the School of Education will play a part in developing and delivering that strategy.”

“Syracuse University’s School of Education is the ideal site for the Regional Partnership Center and the Family and Community and Engagement Centers,” says Joanna Masingila, dean of the School of Education. “These projects build on a strong foundation of comprehensive and cohesive expertise in disability research and practice, education and advocacy with the support and framework of a top-tier research institution. With several centers in the School focused on disability and inclusion and a rich history of leadership in this field, Syracuse is well positioned to develop and execute this next wave of systems improvement across the region.”

The School of Education’s pursuit to create equitable and inclusive schools has been supported by federal and state funding for almost three decades, with past contracts to operate the state’s early childhood and school aged assistance programs (Syracuse University Parent Assistance Center and the Early Childhood Direction Center), which completed in 2019. Currently, the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education/InclusiveU and the Fit Families program provide parents, students and professionals with resources to support communication strategies and trainings on inclusion in school and community.

The new NYSED funded centers will serve the Mid-State Region, including the Syracuse City School District and the BOCES regions of Onondaga-Cortland-Madison, Cayuga-Onondaga, CiTi Oswego, and Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga. The School of Education has hired new staff expertise in early childhood inclusive education, in addition to the directors from the former Syracuse University Parent Assistance Center and the Early Childhood Direction Center to facilitate the trainings and provide support to the broad network of partner districts.

Cleo Hamilton

If you ask his friends what makes Cleo Hamilton an outstanding example of Orange spirit, his dedication and determination are two characteristics that stand out. Hamilton is entering his senior year at Syracuse University this fall with one of the highest honors a student can receive, being named a Remembrance Scholar, defying odds along the way.

Hamilton is attending Syracuse University through University College as an InclusiveU student, a School of Education initiative to enroll students with intellectual and developmental disabilities into a fully inclusive setting at Syracuse University. He audits classes with his peers, ranging from Managing the Sport Organization to Religion in Sports, has a part-time job off campus and volunteers for leadership roles with OttoTHON, Relay For Life, Student Association and more. He chose to major in sport management and will earn a certificate through Falk College next year.

After graduating from Nottingham High School in the City of Syracuse, Hamilton began receiving services from Onondaga Community Living (OCL), a community agency that supports people with disabilities to be able to live, learn and work in the community. He had always wanted to go to Syracuse University and, through OCL, was able to enroll in InclusiveU in 2016.

Hamilton, outgoing, independent and engaging, immediately participated in leadership opportunities in the program, advocating on Capitol Hill with his classmates, collaborating with the Executive Director Beth Myers on an article in a national journal on inclusive education and receiving the “Person of the Year” Award from OCL. He is active in the community and on social media and is quick to recruit others to volunteer on campus, often tabling at Schine Student Center for various organizations.

Hamilton says he decided to apply to be a Remembrance Scholar because he wanted to help the campus spread more awareness about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The scholarships were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the 35 Syracuse University study abroad students who perished in the bombing. The sense of community was also a big appeal. “When I was a freshman, my friend Tori invited me to the vigil, where I saw everyone singing songs,” Hamilton says. “I went again last year.”

Cleo Hamilton enjoys athletics and wants to work with a professional team after graduation.

Tori Cedar, his friend and former Peer Trainer through InclusiveU, supported Cleo in his freshman year as he acclimated to college, attending football games and OttoTHON committee meetings together.

“When I got the news that Cleo would become one of the 35 Remembrance Scholars for the 2019-2020 school year, a wave of emotion came over me. A part of me was like ‘well yes of course, Cleo is a rockstar this makes so much sense.’ However, the bigger part of my emotion came over as I started thinking about what this all means,” Cedar says. “At InclusiveU, we all know Cleo is incredible, passionate, dedicated, hard-working, kind, strong, resilient, funny and the most caring man you’ll probably ever meet. But this proves that our students, our faculty, our administration, our society, and our world also see what we see. When Cleo got named as a Remembrance Scholar they saw the man we knew could get this scholarship and deserved the honor of being named a Remembrance Scholar from the beginning.”

At Hillel’s Israel Fest this past April, Hamilton asked for the Remembrance logo to be silk-screened onto a T-shirt, even before next year’s scholars had been selected. This type of deep passion for Syracuse University and for service was reflected in Hamilton’s application.

Lawrence Mason Jr., professor of visual communications in the Newhouse School and chair of the Remembrance Scholar Selection Committee, says that selection committee members were impressed by Hamilton’s undeniable school spirit.

“He volunteers for many service-oriented organizations and activities. Because service to others is a key factor for successful Remembrance Scholars, Cleo emerged as a strong contender for the award. His level of support from both faculty/staff and outgoing Remembrance Scholars on the selection team was outstanding,” Mason says.

Rick Burton, David B. Falk Endowed Professor of Sport Management in the Falk College, was one of those faculty members who supported Hamilton in his application process.

“Cleo was a great joy to have in my SPM 225 class. We would often talk before class started and he filled me in on campus events and activities. I knew immediately he had dedicated himself to our Orange family,” Burton says.

Hamilton says one of his favorite classes so far was with Professor Burton. “We had to do a class project and presentation. This was one of my first times doing one in front of a class,” Hamilton says. “We chose the Philadelphia Phillies.”

Cleo Hamilton with Otto

Going to games and meeting Head Football Coach Dino Babers inspired him to choose a major in sport management. Hamilton enjoys athletics and wants to work with a professional team after graduation. When asked what his favorite things about Syracuse are, he says going to games, making good friends and Mayfest stand out. He also spends time at Hendricks Chapel, and is an active member of the Syracuse Community Choir.

Hamilton joins his InclusiveU peers in a handful of “firsts” at Syracuse University in recent years; the program had its first student to live in a residence hall in 2017, its first out-of-state student in 2018 and its first graduate to be hired at Syracuse University that year. As campus awareness about InclusiveU continues to grow, the support does also.

Professor Beth Myers, executive director of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education and InclusiveU, was not surprised to learn that Hamilton was the first InclusiveU student to receive the prestigious award.

“When you meet Cleo, what stands out is his genuine commitment to the University and to his community,” Myers says. “Cleo’s passion to learn, to grow and to connect with others makes him an outstanding addition to the group.”

Hamilton is in disbelief that his senior year is coming up, but maintains his always positive outlook. When asked what the future holds, he says, “I want to move to New York City and work with athletes at Columbia University.”

InclusiveU students with U.S. Rep. John Katko and Professor Beth Myers

InclusiveU junior Cleo Hamilton, senior Gabby Iannotti and sophomore Ian Coe joined Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education staff on a trip to Washington, D.C., where they partnered with National Down Syndrome Society and the Association of University Centers on Disability for an Advocacy Day, meeting with U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand’s offices, as well as with Katko. They also attended a hearing on Capitol Hill about the importance of post-secondary employment opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The trip was combined with the Washington, D.C., premiere of the documentary film “Intelligent Lives,” hosted in partnership with the Syracuse University Alumni Association. The film features Syracuse alum Micah Fialka-Feldman—who is a pioneer for students with intellectual disabilities—and points to a future in which people of all abilities can fully participate in higher education, meaningful employment, and intimate relationships.

Syracuse University has a rich history of disability advocacy, including founding the first disability studies program in the nation. The creation of the Taishoff Center a decade ago and the growth of InclusiveU, Syracuse University’s program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has continued to position the University as a national leader in the field. Beth Myers, executive director of the center and Lawrence B. Taishoff Assistant Professor of Inclusive Education at the School of Education, views the center’s work as a gateway to a more independent life for young adults with intellectual disabilities.

Gabby Iannotti

“We have experienced significant growth in the field of inclusive higher education these past several years. Not only are more universities developing programs to meet the need of this under-served population, but our partners, community employers and government representatives are gaining a new understanding of how inclusive higher education benefits everyone,” Myers says. “Most of all, we are graduating engaged self-advocates who are ready to contribute to the world around them and who have paved the way for future students with intellectual disabilities to succeed.”

Representative Katko says that defending the civil liberties of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities has always been of the utmost importance to him, and that they must be treated fairly and have access to education and employment opportunities. “I am fully supportive of InclusiveU’s mission and always enjoy the opportunity to interact with students in the program,” Katko says. “I congratulate the students in this year’s graduating class, and I know they will make significant contributions to our society.”

This year’s graduating class of InclusiveU was a record 13 students, anticipated to grow to 20 next year.

Kal Alston

Kal Alston, professor of cultural foundations of education and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Education, will serve as president elect for the for 2019-20 year before becoming president of the organization in 2020-21.

Alston has been active with Philosophy of Education Society (PES) for over 30 years, having attended her first conference in 1988, and previously serving as chair of the Commission on Professional Affairs, the Committee on Race and Ethnicity, and the Just Community Committee, which is an outgrowth of recent work completed to articulate an anti-harassment policy for the society.

Although involved in many academic organizations, she views PES as her academic “home base.” “My graduate advisor and cohort mates, my own former grad students, and former and current colleagues continue to be involved in the society,” explains Alston. “Then, as now, I have an interest in promoting the study of philosophy of education, the continuation of that work in schools and colleges of education, and the broadening of conversations in and around the society about how our concerns are woven into addressing important ethical, educational and social equity issues.”

Since joining the University in 2005, Alston has held Universitywide roles, including the senior vice president of human capital development, as well as both senior associate provost and associate provost for academic administration. In 2018, she was named the associate dean for academic affairs for the School of Education, where she oversees curriculum, accreditation, scholarships and various supports for graduate student research and learning. Alston spent her earlier career at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in educational policy studies and as director of the Gender & Women’s Studies Program, and received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Her most recent publications have focused on ethics and community responsibility, the phenomenological experience of race in philosophical practice and the ethics of educational leadership and policy.

The Philosophy of Education Society is an international forum that promotes the philosophic treatment of educational practice, policy and research; advances the quality of teaching the philosophy of education; and cultivates fruitful relationships between and among philosophers, philosophers of education and educators. The society recently held its 75th annual conference.