Recently, ACL issued a series of grants to University Centers of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities to continue to promote diversity and cultural competence across the developmental disabilities network. The National Training Initiative grants will fund partnerships with minority-serving institutions (MSIs), a diversity and inclusion training program, and 12 diversity and inclusion fellowships.
MSI partnership planning grants will provide seed money for four UCEDDs to partner with MSIs or community colleges to jointly plan and co-design training and use innovative knowledge exchange and transfer strategies that promote and create interdisciplinary approaches to research, training, and services. UCEDDs receiving grants include:
- Georgetown University, for a partnership with Trinity Washington University, a MSI in Washington, DC.
- Minot State University, for a partnership with Turtle Mountain Community College, a tribally-chartered college in North Dakota.
- University of Arizona, for a partnership with Tohono O’odham Community College, a tribal college located in the Tohono O’oham Nation in Southern Arizona.
- University of South Dakota, for a partnership with Sinte Geska University, a tribally-chartered institution of higher education.
Georgetown University also received a grant to implement a diversity and inclusion training action plan developed last year for the national network of UCEDDs. Georgetown is leading consortium of three UCEDDs, including UCEDDs at Georgia State University and the University of Southern California, working on this initiative. The consortium will guide the UCEDD network at all levels as they embed cultural diversity, and cultural linguistic competence, into programs serving people with developmental disabilities.
Twelve UCEDDs will use diversity fellowship program grants to support the recruitment and retention of trainees from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to participate in a fellowship experience that includes the opportunity to make systemic change through a capstone project and community-based activities.
Grants were awarded to UCEDDs at:
- Georgetown University
- Kennedy Krieger Institute
- The Ohio State University
- University of Arizona
- University of Colorado Denver
- University of Georgia
- The University of Illinois
- University of Massachusetts Boston
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center
- Utah State University
- Wayne State University
- West Virginia University
Learn more about the fellowship program and meet the 2016-2017 class of fellows.