COE’s Schiro-Geist Receives National Award 

October 25, 2023 – Dr. Chrisann Schiro-Geist, Director of the University of Memphis Institute on Disability (UMID) recently received the Inclusive Higher Education (IHE) Leadership Award at the annual State of the Art (SOTA) Conference.

SOTA is hosted by Think College, a national center that focuses on improving higher education options for intellectually disabled students.

At SOTA, Dr. Schiro-Geist presented “Perspectives on Inclusion,” a slideshow presentation on how UMID has developed and carried out a curriculum for its mentally disabled students through TigerLIFE, which involves workforce assessment, training, and career exploration. TigerLIFE also implements the inclusive nature of the college life, by helping students participate in university events and activities.

Dr. Schiro-Geist said that “What we are doing here now is not ‘special education at college.’ It is truly inclusive Higher Education.”