KU Disabilities Center Updates Name, Broadens Mission

In an effort to reflect a growing focus on supporting and partnering with all people with disabilities to advance outcomes, the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities recently broadened its name to the Kansas University Center on Disabilities (KUCD).

The change reflects the growth of the Center and the range of research, training, community engagement, and information dissemination activities undertaken by KUCD researchers. The Center, a part of the KU Life Span Institute, will continue its membership in the Association of University Centers on Disabilities network.

KUCD Director Karrie Shogren worked with the entire KUCD team and community partners to reflect on the Center’s name and mission over the past six months.  

“The name change better reflects our growing team who share a common vision to align supports and services across the life course to advance education, employment, and community living and participation outcomes for people with disabilities aligned with their supports needs,” Shogren said. 

The Center’s investigators, research staff and community partners work in diverse but complimentary areas. These range from self-determination and transition interventions in secondary education, to academic interventions in elementary education, to early childhood education. The work includes changing how schools organize the delivery of supports and services for all students, to how teachers and community support providers are trained, to focusing on adult supports in the community throughout adulthood.

KUCD’s inclusive research team and community partners put the center’s new mission statement into plain language: 

We aim to strengthen communities so that everyone can learn, work, feel included, and thrive. We do this by leading research, providing education and training, and building partnerships with people with disabilities, their families, educators, other support providers, and the community. Our approach is built on teamwork, creative ideas, and innovation.

Shogren said that the changes were the latest evolution in the center’s history. 

“Throughout its 55-year history, KUCD has been a leader in advancing supports for people with disabilities,” she said. “We aim to continue this leadership and expand the work that we are engaged in as well as build greater community engagement to inform our priorities.”  

KUCD has also recently changed physical locations on the KU campus, given their expansion. The Center is now located on the fifth and seventh floors of Joseph R. Pearson (JRP) Hall. To learn more about KUCD or schedule a visit, contact the Center at kucd@ku.edu.

Photo: Staff welcome visitors during the KUCD open house in October 2024. Credit: Drew Rosdahl, KU Life Span Institute