Everyone deserves a chance to harness their potential. Help support the next generation of disability inclusion through the Dream Big matching campaign from the Taishoff Family Foundation.
Kathy and Capt. Robert P. Taishoff, JAGC, USN (Ret.) ’86, a Syracuse University Life Trustee, have renewed the Taishoff Family Foundation’s committment to the Center on Disability and Inclusion (CDI) and InclusiveU with this $2.5 million matching gift. Dream Big will lift InclusiveU to the next phase of programmatic growth and service: enhancing transition supports, student experience and more inclusive opportunities for students; providing operational support; and increasing program capacity by 25% in the next five years.
Syracuse University is committed to meeting this matching opportunity by raising another $2.5 million for a $5 million combined investment. This will support InclusiveU and CDI programming, technical assistance and research and expand CDI’s physical space on campus, helping create a truly inclusive future.
InclusiveU has provided a fully inclusive college experience for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the University for over 10 years. The largest program of its kind in the country, InclusiveU enables students to engage in university courses, participate in campus life and gain experience through internships to secure competitive integrated employment.
To learn about how you can support Dream Big, contact:
Torin Washington, Assistant Dean for Advancement | tjwashin@syr.edu | 315.412.8512
How We’re Dreaming Big
Expanding InclusiveU
Over 100 students participate in the InclusiveU program ever year—your gift to Dream Big can help us expand and enhance our best-in-class model.
- Increase access to InclusiveU by serving more students and providing scholarship support.
- Expand inclusive dorm experiences and study abroad opportunities.
- Increase employment preparation through an integrated career development and internship model.
- Enhance the student-centered advising process.
- Expand transition supports for students as they enter and exit the program.
- Strengthen internal and external partnerships.
- Strengthen program sustainability.
Technical Assistance and Advocacy
The Center on Disability and Inclusion serves as a model of inclusion locally, nationally, and globally, and the demand for technical assistance to other universities, schools and programs has grown. Your gift to Dream Big will help provide greater outreach, advocacy, and policy work.
- Develop an Inclusive Higher Education Technical Assistance Center with a focus on improving outcomes for students with disabilities in PreK-12 and higher education.
- Host an interdisciplinary symposium and other events to help the CDI maintain our position as a thought leader and foster new collaborations.
- Provide essential, dedicated community outreach and advocacy support staff to support new partnerships and extend the impact of CDI’s work.
Research Support
Building on its established success, we seek to expand CDI’s research portfolio and interdisciplinary partnerships.
- Broaden our research enterprise and set the stage for elevation from a center to a university-recognized institute.
- Support graduate assistantships, endowed faculty positions, and fellowships.
- Generate support for CDI’s small grants program and general research fund.
A Legacy of Inclusion
Syracuse University’s School of Education is internationally recognized for its groundbreaking work to remove social, legal, physical, policy, and attitudinal barriers that exclude people with disabilities.
Syracuse University has been a leader in the deinstitutionalization and school inclusion movements for several decades. We are home to the first disability studies program in the United States; the first joint degree program in law and disability studies; and the first integrated elementary and special education teacher education program at a research university.
The Center on Disability and Inclusion is a disability-related research center that works to develop and implement initiatives promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of school and society, both locally and globally.
The CDI maintains a strong research focus and serves community engagement, technical assistance and advocacy functions through a strategic collaboration of existing centers, including the Lawrence B. Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education.