AAIDD and AUCD: Supporting Students and Young Professionals

June 23, 2008

Last year, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate and promote collaboration and cooperation between the two organizations that would support students and early career professionals. Both associations recognize the need to enhance recruitment and retention of students and young professionals in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. The areas of cooperation may include:

1. Collaboration on training events for students and young professionals (e.g. teleconferences and webinars focusing on key issues for students and young professionals).
2. Distribution of relevant materials created by each organization to the other organization's membership (e.g., AAIDD Student and Young Professional Newsletter, AUCD Digest, AUCD Legislative News In Brief, AAIDD membership information)
3. Support opportunities to enhance participation of students and young professionals at each other's annual meetings (e.g. hosting joint student and young professional receptions and networking events, extending conference registration discounts and stipends to student and young professionals from both organizations).

June 19 kicked off the first of a series of several webinars entitled, The Early Career Development: Writing for Publication. The webinars are 60 minutes and FREE of charge. The informal webinars are interactive and provide an excellent opportunity for participants to ask specific questions related to their field of study. Drs. Susan Parish from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Charlie Lakin from University of Minnesota did an excellent job of presenting tips and advice and shared their wisdom to 77 students and early career professionals from around the country. The next webinar will take place in the early fall on a topic to be decided.

Below is the participant feedback.

1. Have you submitted your work for publication?

Number Responded	Percent Responded	Yes	No
44	57.14%	48%	52%

 

2. Has your work been accepted for publication?

Number Responded	Percent Responded	Yes	No
25	32.47%	32%	68%

 

3. Have you been a reviewer for a publication?

Number Responded	Percent Responded	Yes	No
35	45.45%	14%	86%

 

4. Do you understand the difference between a peer reviewed and non peer

reviewed journal?

Number Responded	Percent Responded	Yes	No
31	40.26%	90%	10%

 

5. On a scale from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) how useful would you rate this

webinar?

Number Responded	Percent Responded	Mean	Median	Mode
43	55.8%	4	4	4

 

6. What topics would you suggest for future webinar for students and young professionals?

• How to find and apply for jobs in the disability studies field
• Career paths that aren't tenured positions: what are they and how does on find out about them?
• Job search process across disciplines and not just in academia.
• How to prepare a presentation proposal for conferences
• Grant writing, funding our research
• Strategic planning to become the next executive/director
• Leadership opportunities within the UCEDD network
• Influencing policymakers
• How disability studies can improve and impact our work
• Networking at conferences, networking: the path for taking clinical observations to providing evidence based research.
• Current and future themes of crucial importance.
• Developing a line of research, moving to a new line of research
• Research partnerships
• Securing funding