The Disability Research Institute:
Partnership in
a New Paradigm
Office of Disability and Income
Security Programs, U.S. Social Security Administration
This office directs and manages
the planning, development, issuance, and evaluation of operational
policies, standards, and instructions for the Retirement and Survivors
Insurance, Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) program, and other SSA programs. The office manages SSA’s
disability and SSI policy and research agendas and long-term disability
initiatives.
College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
A college of diverse educational
opportunities, Applied Health Sciences offers undergraduate and graduate
students a plethora of courses,
professional expertise, and dedicated staff to provide them with assistance and guidance
during their time at the university. The college is committed to
building partnerships with professional leaders in the University
and local community, as well as national and international professionals
in various fields of study and research.
Affiliate Institutions
These institutions partnered in 2000 and submitted the application
in response to the Social Security Administration Request for Proposals
(RFP) for the creation of a national disability research institute:
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Management
and Labor Relations
- Northwestern University, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC)
- University of Chicago, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)
Collaborating Institutions
These institutions have been actively involved in research endeavors
with the DRI and have requested and received a Collaborating Partner
status.
- University of Richmond, Bureau of Disability Economics Research
- University of Rhode Island, Schmidt Labor Research Center
- University of Wisconsin-Stout, Stout Vocational Rehabilitation
Institute
- Southern University, Rehabilitation Counseling Program
- University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Disability and
Human Development
- The Ohio State University, School of Physical Activity and Education
Services, College of Education
- Indiana University, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
- Syracuse University, Burton Blatt Institute
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Units
National Center for Supercomputing
Applications (NCSA)
NCSA opened its doors in January 1986
as one of the five original centers in the National Science Foundation's
Supercomputer Centers Program and a unit of the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign. The center earned and maintains an international
reputation in high-performance computing and networking and in developing
innovative software applications. NCSA is a leader in defining the
future's high-performance cyberinfrastructure for scientists, engineers,
and society.
Institute for Labor and Industrial
Relations (ILIR)
The movement to establish an institute for labor research and
teaching was initiated by a resolution adopted in October 1942 at
the 60th
annual convention of the Illinois State Federation of Labor, which
called for the setting up of a department at the University of Illinois.
An act of the state legislature in 1945 established the Institute
of Labor and Industrial Relations on the campus of the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and it began operating in 1946.
It is the mission of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations
to strive continually for excellence in scholarly research, teaching,
extension, and service activities dedicated to the achievement and
dissemination of a more informed understanding of employment relations.
Institute of Government and Public
Affairs (IGPA)
The Institute was created in 1947 with a resolution in the Illinois
General Assembly. That resolution urged the University of Illinois
to establish "a curriculum in government which would give its
students the opportunity to major in the study of public service
at home and abroad and thereby supply persons trained to seek and
serve in local, state and national elective offices, and in all
branches of our foreign service." The IGPA serves society by
helping to improve public policies and the performance of government.
It does this by disseminating research on public policy issues and
the public decision-making process, and by facilitating the application
of that research to the issues and problems confronting decision
makers and others who address public issues.
Graduate School of Library
and Information Science (GSLIS)
The mission of the School
is to provide: graduate education for leaders in research and
practice
in the fields of library and information science; groundbreaking
research to advance preservation of and access to information
in both traditional and digital libraries and in the many settings
outside of libraries where large amounts of critical information
are collected; and useful service to librarians and other information
service providers, as well as to the citizens of Illinois.
Office of Continuing
Education (OCE)
The mission of the Office of Continuing Education is to provide
leadership for lifelong learning and distance education for
students of all ages.
Division of Rehabilitation-Education
Services (DRES)
DRES provides a wide range
of services to students with documented disabilities, from
adapted testing to campus accessibility issues, or assisted
living and
accessible transportation. The DRES Campus Life division assists
students as
they integrate into life on campus, coordinates extramural
activities, and endeavors to provide students with easy access
to university
programs.
DRI Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is comprised of researchers from Institute’s
affiliate partners: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Rutgers University, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago at Northwestern
University, and the National Opinion Research Center at the University
of Chicago. The Executive Committee is responsible for the Institute’s
annual and long-term strategic plan. This committee reviews and recommends research proposals for funding by the SSA.
It also develops longer-term goals aimed at helping individuals
with disabilities while fulfilling the Institute’s missions
as the research arm of the Social Security Administration.
Executive Committee Members are:
Tanya Gallagher, Ph.D.
Director, Disability Research Institute
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Monroe Berkowitz, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Management
and Labor Relations
Brad Hedrick, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Rehabilitation Education Services
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Allen Heinemann, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern
University
Associate Director, Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Mary Grace Kovar, Ph.D.
Consultant
National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago
Tom Prudhomme, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Cybercommunities
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DRI Technical Advisory Panel
The Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) is comprised of six nationally
recognized disability scholars and practitioners representing
a broad range of substantive knowlege. The TAP was established jointly
by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Disability
Research Institute (DRI). Three TAP members were selected by the
SSA and three TAP members were selected by the DRI’s Executive
Committee.
The TAP provides advice and counsel in formulating the Institute’s
research agenda and implementation of its research projects. In
addition, the TAP provides advice on the education and training
plan and on any research policy issues relating to the overall direction
of DRI. Finally, TAP members provide technical assistance and consultation
on a wide range of disability-related issues.
Technical Advisory Panel Members are:
Lex Frieden
Chairperson, National Council on Disability
Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Baylor College of Medicine
William Graves, Ph.D.
Dean, Darden College of Education
Old Dominion University
Mitchell LaPlante, Ph.D.
Directory, Disability Statistics Center
Virginia Reno
Director of Research
National Academy of Social Insurance
Denise Tate, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department
University of Michigan
Margaret Turk, M.D.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
SUNY Upstate Medical University
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