Interested applicants should contact Chris Lemons at lemons [at] pitt.edu for more information.

Recruiting Highly Qualified Students for Doctoral Study at the University of Illinois

The purpose of Project LEAD is to prepare knowledgeable, dynamic leaders in the field of special education who have expertise in supporting students with disabilities to gain access to the general education curriculum in high-need schools. Project LEAD involves a) collaboration among faculty and doctoral students from the Departments of Special Education and other units in the college (i.e., Curriculum and Instruction, the Center for Education in Small Urban Communities); b) facilitating relationships between participants and leading researchers in the field of special education; and c)
developing intimate linkages with high-need schools locally and in Chicago. Project LEAD emphasizes five competency areas related to access to the general education curriculum:

• Disability law and education policy
• Improving outcomes through research and data-based decisions
• Collaborative practices between regular and special educators in inclusive environments
• Universal design for learning (UDL)
• Service learning

Doctoral Program Support

• Paid tuition
• A yearly stipend for full-time 11-month participation
• Annual stipend for conference attendance and research materials

Program Requirements
The Doctoral Program in Special Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign requires 64 credit hours beyond the master’s degree. Specialization in access to the general education curriculum will be achieved through:

• Coursework: existing courses and newly created Advanced Topics courses on access;
• Participation in the LEAD Seminar: bi-monthly meetings on research, teaching, and service issues related educating students in high-need schools;,
• Technology: use of videoconferencing to engage with national and state experts; opportunities to use assistive and instructional technologies that promote access; and
• Participation in traineeships: research, teaching, and service learning process on access in high need schools;
• Early research and dissertation: an early research project and dissertation focused on access to the general education curriculum in high need schools.

Traineeship Experiences
Participants in LEAD complete a 20-hour paid traineeship each semester that focuses on research, teaching, or personnel preparation (depending on the semester) and allows collaboration with key faculty and leaders in the special and general education communities. Five types of traineeships are offered:

• Collaborative research experiences with the trainee’s advisors on topics related to access to the general education curriculum
• Research experiences addressing access to the general education curriculum in high need schools
• Teaching experiences in university courses
• Supervision experiences with student teachers in high need schools
• Completion of a service learning project on access to the general education curriculum

A unique aspect of the program is its emphasis on access to general education in high-need schools. Through the Center for Education in Small Urban Communities at the University of Illinois, students have opportunities to partner with master teachers in high-need schools to conduct research, supervise student teachers, initiate service-learning projects, and apply concepts learned in their coursework and seminars to authentic situations in high-need schools. We believe the combination of coursework focused on current research and pedagogy related to accessing the general curriculum in high-need schools, and hands-on practice with research, teaching, and supervision in high-need schools prepares participants to serve as leaders in improving academic and functional outcomes for students with disabilities.

Doctoral Program Eligibility
To be eligible for the LEAD program, a doctoral student must have:

• A Master’s degree in special education or a related field
• U.S. citizenship or permanent U.S. residency
• A minimum grade point average of 3.0 out of 4.0
• 2 or more years of experience with individuals with disabilities in school or community settings
• Goals consistent with the program
• A strong interest in research in the area of access to the general education curriculum

Doctoral Program Application Process
Interested applicants should submit an application to the doctoral program in Special Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by going to the Department of Special Education website at http://education.illinois.edu/sped/AdmissionsDoctoral.html

For More Information Please Contact one of the Members of the LEAD Team :
Stacy K. Dymond at sdymond@illinois.edu
Lisa Monda-Amaya at lmonda@illinois.edu
Jan Gaffney at gaffneyj@illinois.edu
Karrie Shogren at kshogren@illinois.edu
1310 S. Sixth Street, 288 Education Building, MC-708, Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 333-0260

Project LEAD is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Personnel Preparation to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities Program.

Doctoral students who receive funding from Project LEAD will be required to meet service obligation requirements set forth by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (http://www.serviceobligations.ed.gov/history.cfm)

Women, minorities and individuals with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

For more information on the program, including how to apply for the scholarships, contact Raimondi at Raimondi [at] buffalo [dot] edu or call 716-645-5042. Students from culturally and linguistically diverse populations, as well as individuals with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.

The VCU Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development is seeking up to four post-doctoral scholars (full-time) to collaborate on a large-scale community-based intervention project. The Institute is a National Academic Center of Excellence on Youth Violence Prevention funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Institute is housed in the VCU Department of Psychology, but faculty, staff, and students from the School of Education, Department of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Government & Public Affairs, and Department of Psychiatry, are also represented. The Institute’s mission is to empower youth, schools, families, and other stakeholders to promote the healthy, safe, and otherwise positive development of youth from early adolescence through emerging adulthood. Faculty within the Institute are engaged in a variety of research projects representing both applied research (e.g., risk and protective factors associated with youth violence) and development and evaluation of preventive interventions in school and community settings. Additional information regarding the Institute is available on our website (www.clarkhill.vcu.edu).

Post-doctoral fellows will work on a research project to develop and evaluate a comprehensive youth violence prevention strategy at the community level with (a) school-based universal and selective interventions for middle school youth, (b) a community intervention designed to provide high quality youth development programs and resources for 10-to-20 year old youth in high-risk neighborhoods within the community, and (c) a selective family intervention for high-risk youth aged 11-to-17. Fellows will provide support in intervention development and implementation, community-academic relationship building, data collection, data analysis, and writing manuscripts. Fellows will also develop and submit a grant proposal and participate in mentoring activities. Although fellows will have opportunities to participate in multiple aspects of this project and to collaborate with multiple researchers within the Institute, each fellow will also be given a primary assignment to one of the following core areas: the Evaluation Core led by Dr. Albert Farrell, the Community Intervention Core led by Dr. Kevin Allison, the Family Intervention core led by Dr. Rosalie Corona, and the School Intervention Core led by Dr. Terri Sullivan. Applicants interested in the Evaluation Core will be expected to have a background in evaluation research and advanced quantitative methods. Applicants interested in the community intervention core will be expected to have experience working with youth-serving organizations in urban neighborhoods. Applicants interested in the family intervention core will be expected to have clinical training and fluency in Spanish is desirable. Applicants interested in the School Intervention Core will be expected to have experience working with teachers and students in school settings.

Qualified candidates will have earned a doctorate in Psychology, Education, Social Work, Public Health or other relevant discipline by the time of appointment. Expertise in quantitative and/or qualitative data analysis, strong written and oral communication skills, and strong organizational and interpersonal skills are required. The position offers a competitive salary plus health benefits. Initial appointment will be for one year with funding for a second year dependent on available funds and performance review.

We anticipate that appointments will begin in June, 2011, with some flexibility for starting earlier or later – though no later than September, 2011. Applicants should send a cover letter including a statement of career goals and degree of interest in one or more of the core areas, CV, a writing sample and three letters of recommendation to Albert D. Farrell. Ph.D., Director, Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development, Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 842018, Richmond, VA 23284. Address email inquiries to afarrell _at_ vcu.edu or kallison _at_ vcu.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the positions are filled.

Upon completion of the project, the grantee will receive $3,000 in compensation. Digital media and special education majors are encouraged to apply. Proposals are due March 26. Direct questions to Patricia Oholeguy at 202.536.3476 or poholeguy [at] rif [dot] org. Learn more about RIF. Download a copy of the RFP.