SIGS (Special Interest Groups)
Get Involved!
AHEAD works because of you, our members. Every day, we receive requests for information on hot topics such as open enrollment, documentation needs for students with psychiatric disabilities, transition issues, job placement, etc. These are not new questions, they are ones arise for all of us in the day to day operations. But there is a way that we can organize and help one another.
SIG's, or Special Interest Groups, are AHEAD members organized around an interest or concern. SIG's provide leadership to the AHEAD membership by providing information and referral, organizing professional development opportunities, and networking around a particular topic.
Consider setting up a discussion forum; if you're active in a SIG (or would like to be) request a listserv on a topic of interest or join an existing one. Or perhaps you'd like to learn more, below is a list of the SIGs that have been established over time. Contact the leaders and see how you can get involved.
Contact the AHEAD office for more information.
Current SIG Information
- ADA Coordinators
- Autism/Asperger SIG
- Blindness/Visual Impairment
- Career Planning/Placement
- Community Colleges
- Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Disability Studies
- Emergency Preparation
- Graduate and Professional Students
- Head Injury
- Independent Colleges and Universities
- LD - AD/HD
- Online and distance learning SIG
- Psychiatric
- Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Disability
- Student Athletes with Disabilities
- Technology
- TRIO Programs
- Other Special Interest Groups
ADA Coordinators
Responds to members' concerns about education, communication and training for persons charged with ADA compliance for their campuses.
Contact:
- L. Scott Lissner lissner.2@osu.edu
Autism/Asperger SIG
The Asperger's Special Interest Group provides information and resources for professionals working with students with Asperger's Syndrome. As this challenging population on college campuses continues to grow, the SIG will sponsor conference session and have a listserv to share ideas and resources.
Contacts:
- Jane Thierfeld Brown jane.brown@law.uconn.edu
- Lorraine Wolf LWolf@bu.edu
- Ruth Bork r.bork@neu.edu
Blindness/Visual Impairment
Promotes accessibility to higher education by blind and visually impaired persons.
Contacts:
- Jim Marks marks@mso.umt.edu
- John Harris jlharris@mtsu.edu
Career Planning/Placement
Offers practical strategies on how to empower students and human resource managers to recruit, hire, train, and promote qualified college graduates with disabilities in today's diversified work force.
Invitation to Career Planning and Placement SIG Meeting at AHEAD 2009
Contacts:
- Ronnie Porter v.porter@neu.edu
- Kathy McCreedy kmmccreedy@chartermi.net
Community Colleges
Serves as a forum for dissemination of information and promotion of shared problem solving around the unique issues concerning disabilities and community and junior colleges.
Contacts:
- Jennifer Radt jennifer.radt@uc.edu
Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Promotes postsecondary education equity for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Contacts:
- Cindy Camp ccamp@jsu.edu
- Kaye Ellis kellis@tulsacc.edu
Disability Studies
Promotes an awareness of the discipline of disability studies, to provide a forum for discussion of current issues and trends in disability studies, and to serve as a network/clearinghouse/liaison for AHEAD members and others (e.g., editorial staff of the Disability Studies Quarterly and members of the Society for Disability Studies) who are interested in the field of disability studies.
Contact:
- Karen Pettus karen@mailbox.sc.edu
- Susan Mann Dolce samann@buffalo.edu
Emergency Preparation
The mission of the Emergency Preparation Special Interest Group is to engage AHEAD in a national/international leadership position in the dialogue and development of inclusive policies and practices that fully consider the emergency needs of all individuals
Contacts:
- Vinson Ballard vinson.ballard@jsums.edu
Graduate and Professional Students-"GAP"
Purpose is to help bridge the GAP experienced by many service providers and students with disabilities in graduate and professional programs.
Contacts:
- Jane Thierfeld Brown jane.brown@law.uconn.edu
Head Injury
Serves as a forum to share information and provide assistance and support to AHEAD members in working with students who have acquired a head injury.
Contact:
- Ruth Bork r.bork@neu.edu
Independent Colleges and Universities
Offers AHEAD members representing independent colleges an opportunity to address the concerns unique to their setting, such as limited staffing and budgets.
Contacts:
- Virginia (Ginny) DeMers vdemers@ringling.edu
- Pamela M. Schwartz, Ph.D. pschwartz@albion.edu
LD - AD/HD
Purpose is to collaboratively address the current and salient issues of students with learning disabilities (LD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) in the postsecondary setting and the professionals who work with them.
Contacts:
- Debby Wilkerson (listserv contact) dwilkerson@jsr.vccs.edu
- Matt Buckley (co-chair) buckleym@missouri.edu
- Carole Burrowbridge (co-chair) burrowbrid_c@mercer.edu
Online and distance learning SIG
The online and distance learning SIG provides AHEAD members with an opportunity
to learn more about the unique challenges of accommodating students with disabilities
in online and distance learning. The SIG also offers members an opportunity to
share resources and strategies as well as to network with others who are working
with online courses at their institutions. Contacts:
- Kelly Hermann, Kelly.Hermann@esc.edu
- Julie Scaff, Julie.Scaff@phoenix.edu
Psychiatric
The mission of the Psychiatric Disabilities Special Interest Group is to improve services and the campus climate for students with psychiatric disabilities. This is accomplished by establishing a network for disability service providers, providing a forum to get answers to their questions, sharing useful resources, and developing and promoting the use of best practices to provide equal access to higher education for students with psychiatric disabilities.
Contacts:
- Barbara Blacklock black005@umn.edu
Racial and Ethnic Diversity and Disability
Aims to increase the awareness of AHEAD members on issues of diversity pertaining to students from historically underrepresented groups.
Contacts:
- Eve Nichols eve.nichols@metrostate.edu
- Marvin Clemons, Sr. mcc@nsu.edu
- Michael S. Hughes mhughes@bowiestate.edu
Student Athletes with Disabilities
The purpose of this SIG is two-fold: to discuss issues and best practices as they relate to student-athletes with disabilities in existing varsity sports and to discuss ways to increase athletic opportunities on college campuses for students with disabilities.
Contacts:
- Matt Springer mtspring@ius.edu
Technology
Shares information and resources regarding access to information technology by students with disabilities in higher education. Focus is on policy and management and issues regarding the availability of assistive technology and the procurement, develpment and use of accessible information technology.
Contacts:
- Cindy Jepsen cindy.jepsen@asu.edu
TRIO Programs
Coordinates a communication/mutual aid and support network, monitor issues, concerns and developments affecting students with disabilities in TRIO programs, and aims to develop the capability to respond to those issues, concerns and developments in a timely and meaningful manner.
Contact:
- Rhonda Rapp RhondaRapp@gmail.com
Other SIGs
If you have questions about the existing SIGs or have a suggestion for a new SIG, please contact:
