Summary
A celebration of the recent impact and accomplishment of our Student Fellows, Faculty Cadre, and Leadership Team.
We’re proud to announce the awards, accolades, and honors the National Disability Center’s Leadership Team, Student Fellows, and Faculty Cadre have received in the past six months — reflecting their accomplishment and impact in their respective fields and among their peers.
Desirée Lama is Promoted and Joins Leadership Team
Desirée Lama was promoted from Student Fellow to Coordinator of Student Partnerships, a role that helps manage the student experience at the Center and is a member of the Leadership Team. A doctoral student in Educational Psychology, Desirée was spotlighted by the Center last spring. They also write a regular column for Multiple Sclerosis News Today called Authentically Human by Desirée Lama that strives to capture the “burdensome feelings of human existence,” especially for those with MS.
Stephanie W. Cawthon Publishes New Book and is Awarded Endowed Professorship
The National Disability Center’s principal investigator and executive director, Stephanie W. Cawthon, PhD, has published a new book that seeks to dispel myths and raise expectations about disabled people. Disability Is Human: The Vital Power of Accessibility in Everyday Life draws upon Dr. Cawthon’s extensive experience as a professional educator and researcher. It’s a practical book aimed at a broad, general audience and has a companion volume, Disability Is Human: The Vital Power of Accessibility in Everyday Life | The Official Workbook, for readers who want hands-on strategies and activities. This fall Dr. Cawthon also received the Catherine Mae Parker Centennial Professorship in Education, an endowed professorship awarded in recognition of her academic leadership and achievement — including as a Professor and Graduate Advisor in the Department of Educational Psychology, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Special Education.
North Cooc Co-Authors Report on Bullying of California’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Youth
In a special commentary in EdSource, Faculty Cadre member North Cooc, EdD, explained his research in a new report published by the School Policy, Action, and Research Center (SPARC) at The University of California at Davis. Dr. Cooc and his colleagues disaggregated statewide bullying data from the California Healthy Kids Survey — digging deeper to reveal troubling insights about the state’s Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups, many of which have elevated risks for bullying that are not apparent in aggregated data. Dr. Cooc is an associate professor of special education at the University of Texas at Austin.
Andrew Dillon’s Co-Authored Paper Wins Award
Andrew Dillon, PhD, Director of Research Dissemination at the National Disability Center and co-investigator of the grant, co-authored a paper with his student, Takayuki Suzuki, that won Best Student Author paper at the Canadian Association for Information Science (CAIS) 2024 Annual Conference. The paper, “Exploring the Intersection of Digital Placemaking and Information Science in Smart Cities,” highlights the role of information research in smart city development to argue for human-centered, inclusive, and sustainable approaches. At CAIS2024, Dr. Dillon also presented “Shaping the Future of Therapy: A Call for the Involvement of Information Scholars in Designing Digital Tools for Mental Health.” He is the V.M. Daniel Regents Professor at the School of Information at UT Austin.
Denisa Gándara Receives Excellence in Public Policy Award
Faculty Cadre member Denisa Gándara, PhD, is this year’s recipient of the Association for the Study of Higher Education’s CPPHE Excellence in Public Policy award. This honor recognizes excellence in work at the nexus of academic scholarship and policy practice. An Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Dr. Gándara’s research primarily focuses on higher education, finance, policy, and politics. She was appointed by President Joe Biden to the National Board for Education Sciences and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Dr. Gándara is an associate editor for The Journal of Higher Education and an editorial board member for the Journal of Postsecondary Student Success.
Earl Huff, Jr., Awarded Endowed Fellowship
Through August 2024, Faculty Cadre member Earl Huff, Jr., PhD, was the recipient of The Dr. Karen Balcom Endowed Fellowship at the School of Information. Established by Dr. Balcom’s family in her memory, the fellowship provides support to faculty engaged in the fields of Librarianship, Information Resources, Archives, or related disciplines. Dr. Huff is an assistant professor whose research examines how human-centered and inclusive design principles can be applied to make information and communication technology more equitable and accessible.
Alison Kafer is LGBTQ+ Leader on Celebrating Pride Panel
A special event on June 25, Celebrating Pride: A Community Snapshot of LGBTQ+ Research Efforts in Education, featured Faculty Cadre member Alison Kafer, PhD, in a panel discussion with other LGBTQIA+ leaders from across campus and the Austin area to share how their research or work translates to increased community engagement and awareness. Dr. Kafer is an associate professor who chairs LGBTQ Studies at UT Austin. She is the author of the groundbreaking book, Feminist, Queer, Crip.
Jen Moon Appointed Vice Provost of UT Austin
Faculty Cadre member Jen Moon, PhD, has a new senior leadership position at The University of Texas at Austin as the Vice Provost for Professional-Track Faculty. It is a newly established position that works with professional track faculty on campus to advance their careers through the development of community, programs, policies, and resources. In the appointment announcement, Vice Provost Moon was celebrated for her leadership and commitment to faculty and student success throughout her career. She is a Professor of Instruction in the Biology Instructional Office and Department of Molecular Biosciences in the College of Natural Sciences and served two terms as chair of the Faculty Council from 2022 to 2024.
