
HOMEPAGE: WHATS NEW

10/30/2023
Defining Equity
We are excited to announce AUCD's Board-approved working definition of equity in IDD. Below you will also see a plain language and easy read version. We hope this will help guide you in your future Council work as we continue to discuss concrete ways to improve systems, services, policies, and programs to improve equity. We know this will be an ongoing and evolving conversation within your Centers and across the Network. Thank you for your feedback and contributions to this effort.

10/26/2023
Announcing the 2023-2024 Emerging Leaders Community Interns
The Emerging Leaders Community is excited to announce 3 Interns for the 2023-2024 training year! These trainees will serve as visible ambassadors to the broader AUCD network, interacting with AUCD staff at all levels and the AUCD Board of Directors' Emerging Leaders Representative.

10/24/2023
AUCD Partners with USAging
AUCD is thrilled to be a partner with USAging for the Aging and Disability Vaccination Collaborative, thanks to vital funding from the Administration for Community Living. AUCD's selected Network Centers and Programs are providing needed flu and COVID-19 shots to people with disabilities and older adults to help keep them healthy.

9/27/2023
AUCD's New Brand Guidelines and Logos
We are excited to share AUCD's new brand guidelines! The brand guidelines include information about the AUCD brand, our new logo and colors, how to ensure accessibility across platforms, and more. We hope that you use the guidelines as a resource on how to promote the AUCD brand and how to engage people about the work of the AUCD Network. Please make note of the updated logo and color changes and update your Center's/Program's web pages and other materials accordingly.

9/21/2023
Host a Fellow from the Professional Fellows Program
Is your UCEDD or LEND eager to drive global change in disability inclusion? Host a Fellow from the prestigious Professional Fellows Program (PFP)! The PFP supports mid-career disability rights professionals from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia to participate in a five-week Fellowship in the US in Spring 2024. As a host, we will match you with a Fellow whose professional interests and goals align with your organization to exchange disability-inclusive civic engagement knowledge and practices.

8/15/2023
AUCD Welcomes Rodney Samaco, PhD as Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer
John Tschida, the Executive Director of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, announced today that Rodney Samaco, PhD has been hired as AUCD's Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer (CSBDO). Dr. Samaco will serve in this key leadership role to develop new business models, procure resources, spearhead research initiatives and uncover new opportunities as part of AUCD's Strategic Plan.

7/26/2023
Emerging Leaders Internship & Council Trainee Representative - Applications Now Open!
AUCD is excited to announce (3) openings for the AUCD Emerging Leaders Internship and (5) openings for Council Trainee Representatives. Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year are now open and close on August 4th, 2023.

6/26/2023
Funding Opportunity: State or Tribal Liaisons to CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early." Program
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) announce a funding opportunity for Act Early Ambassadors and Tribal Act Early Ambassadors to work with CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early."

6/16/2023
Iowa's UCEDD Welcomes a Professional Fellow from Zanzibar
Iowa's UCEDD welcomed Bakar Hamad from Zanzibar last month as part of his experience in the Professional Fellow Program, a joint project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston and Humanity & Inclusion. Hamad is the fourth Professional Fellow that Iowa's UCEDD has hosted through the program, which has provided wonderful opportunities for the fellows and for UCEDD staff to exchange information, ideas and strategies for supporting people with disabilities.

6/7/2023
AUCD's Public Health Team is Seeking Two Statisticians
AUCD's Public Health Team is seeking two (2) statisticians to assist in completing a current project evaluating a Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Developmental Monitoring Project. This project seeks to improve the early detection of developmental delays and disabilities in young children in the United States.

2/15/2023
Call for UCEDD LEND ECHO Organizations
The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities is inviting organizations across the network to join the newly formed UCEDD LEND ECHO Collaborative. These monthly calls are open to any UCEDD or LEND program that is currently replicating or interested in implementing the ECHO model. The collaborative will allow UCEDD, LEND, and partner agencies to share successes, challenges, and strategies in using the ECHO model to build capacity throughout their programs supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.

11/28/2022
Autism research is a family affair: Steps toward increasing inclusion and diversity
As a research team working with children and adolescents with autism in the Bronx, a racially, ethnically and culturally diverse borough of New York City, we have seen the significant barriers to research participation that families in our area face. Research is an essential step toward improving outcomes of individuals with autism. When research involves children, parents and caregivers make major contributions to the study process by enrolling their children in research, carving out time to bring their children to the research setting, and providing important information about the child's strengths, needs, and developmental and intervention histories. Unfortunately, the racial and ethnic diversity of the US population is not well-represented in many research studies and research findings often do not generalize to excluded groups. This lack of representation in research contributes to health disparities.

11/22/2022
2022-2023 AUCD Children's Mental Health Champions
AUCD's National Center on Disability in Public Health continues its work with the Children's Mental Health Champions project for a third year. This project is made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Building on the efforts of Champions from 2021-2022, twelve Champions were selected for 2022-2023 to continue to provide timely support for children and their families.

11/22/2022
Welcome Newly 2022 Elected Board Members
On behalf of AUCD Nominating Committee Chair Tawara Goode and Board President Danny Armstrong, AUCD is pleased to announce the newly elected members of the Board of Directors. These new members will begin their three-year term after the passing of the gavel at the 2022 AUCD Conference closing plenary. Congratulations!

10/17/2022
Culturally Relevant Trauma Training Video Developed by Georgia State's Center for Leadership in Disability
Researchers from the Center for Leadership in Disability in the Georgia State University School of Public Health have created a trauma training video module that covers the complex needs of Latinx immigrant and migratory children in Georgia.