About Us
Dr. Wendy S. Harbour, Executive Director
Wendy S. Harbour, Ed.D. is the Lawrence B. Taishoff Assistant Professor of Inclusive Education, as well as the Executive Director of the Lawrence B. Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education at Syracuse University. She is a nationally-recognized figure in the fields of disability and higher education, with expertise in disability studies, universal design for learning, postsecondary disability services and accommodations, and transition from secondary to postsecondary settings. Recent publications include contributions to Seeing Clearly: Ethnical Considerations in the Education of Children who are Deaf (Gallaudet University Press) and Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice (Harvard Education Press), as well as co-editing Special Education for a New Century (Harvard Education Press). Dr. Harbour has served on the editorial board of the Harvard Educational Review and the Journal on Postsecondary Education and Disability, and was a guest editor for Disability Studies Quarterly. She has conducted international research for the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and managed federal grants for the Postsecondary Education Programs Network (PEPNet), and the Center on Applied Special Technology, Inc. (CAST). Dr. Harbour completed her doctorate in education from Harvard University, where she is currently an adjunct lecturer in education. She has a Master’s degree in educational policy from the University of Minnesota, and a Master’s in Teaching and Learning from Harvard University.
Dr. Julie Causton-Theoharis: Director
Julie Causton-Theoharis is an Assistant Professor in the Inclusive and Special Education Program in the Department of Teaching and Leadership at Syracuse University. Her teaching, research and consulting are guided by a passion for inclusive education. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on including students who have traditionally been marginalized in school settings and creating student centered classrooms through differentiation, curricular adaptations, successful school collaboration and universal design of curriculum and instruction. Julie’s research and writing focus on best practices in inclusive education. Her published works have appeared in such journals as Exceptional Children, Teaching Exceptional Children, Journal of Research in Childhood Education and Behavioral Disorders. Julie also works as an educational consultant with individual families, schools and school districts to help improve inclusive practices for all students.
Dr. Douglas Biklen: Senior Scholar
Douglas Biklen is Dean of the School of Education, Syracuse University and is a Professor in Cultural Foundations of Education and Teaching and Leadership, Faculty in Disability Studies and Director of the Facilitated Communication Institute at Syracuse University. He is a founding faculty member of the Center on Human Policy, Law and Disability Studies. His work involves teaching and research on the sociology of disability, inclusive education, and communication. and is the co-Producer of the Academy Award Nominated documentary Autism Is A World for CNN Presents (2004) and produced (with Rossetti) the documentary My Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry Bissonnette (2005). Biklen’s current research focuses on whole school reform, autobiographies of autism, disability policy, and school inclusion. His most recent book, Autism and the Myth of the Person Alone is published by NYU Press (2005). He has published a dozen other books including; Schooling without Labels; Communication Unbound; Access to Academics (with Kluth and Straut). He has written more than 100 articles which have appeared in a range of journals including: the American Education Research Journal; Teachers College Record; Mental Retardation; and the International Journal of Inclusive Education. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of the International Journal of Inclusive Education.
Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee
Disability is more than just a physical, sensory, cognitive or mental impairment. Accessibility is more than just compliance with federal and state laws. Disability is about the human condition, and the Syracuse University community will be enhanced by a broader conceptualization of disability that calls for inclusion, equality, and social justice. read more...
OnCampus
Developed as a partnership between Syracuse University and Syracuse Public Schools, OnCampus is a program that allows public school students with disabilities who are between the ages of 18 and 21 and SU students to learn from each other through shared academic, work, and social experiences. To read more about the OnCampus program click here: read more...