The Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education
School of Education, in collaboration with the entire University community, has built on its experience in creating higher education opportunities for students with developmental disabilities (e.g., Down syndrome, Rett syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy) to establish a national center of excellence for providing leadership for inclusive higher education.
Core elements of the Taishoff Center include:
- Demonstration: The Center demonstrates how to support students ages 18-21 as well as students in their adult years, to participate in all aspects of university life from academic classes to social and recreational opportunities.
- Public Education and Advocacy: The Center has established a state-of-the-art website, providing readers with an index of quality programs, research articles, and information regarding Syracuse University model programs.
- National Conference: Annually the Center will provide a national conference for college and university staff, students with developmental disabilities and their families, policy makers, and university students interested in developing inclusive higher education programs for persons with developmental disabilities.
- Technical Assistance: Center faculty, graduate students, parents, and participants with developmental disabilities provide technical assistance to programs in states through out the U.S. and to international groups interested in replicating the models of inclusive higher education.
- Research: The Center’s undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty, conduct research on such topics as public policy, student growth/learning, transition (i.e., relating learning on campus to work and community living), economic models for inclusive higher education, and related issues.
- Dissemination: The Center produces various short film/video documentaries that tell the stories of individual students as well as program models, for use in college and university classes, in parent association meetings, and for television broadcast.