Summary
Endowed professorships recognize field-leading expertise, scholarly impact, and achievement.
The University of Texas at Austin has awarded an endowed professorship to Stephanie W. Cawthon, PhD, the National Disability Center’s principal investigator and executive director.
An endowed professorship is the highest academic award a university can bestow on a faculty member in recognition of their leadership and achievement.
“I am incredibly honored for this recognition of my work and impact,” said Dr. Cawthon. “As a disabled person who has defied the odds at every turn in my career, I am very gratified to reach a significant pinnacle in academia and show others that it can be done.”
With this award, Dr. Cawthon now holds the Catherine Mae Parker Centennial Professorship in Education at the College of Education, which is where the National Disability Center for Student Success is housed. The endowed professorship is in addition to her previous appointments as Professor and Graduate Advisor in the Department of Educational Psychology and a courtesy appointment in the Department of Special Education.
“Endowed appointments recognize the college faculty’s dedication to creating a dynamic academic environment and highlight the field-leading expertise and scholarly impact they bring to our community. Please join me in congratulating their outstanding accomplishments,” said Dean Charles R. Martinez, Jr.
An internationally renowned speaker and author of four books — most recently Disability Is Human: The Vital Power of Accessibility in Everyday Life — Dr. Cawthon’s groundbreaking research has been funded by over $50 million in federal and other grants.