TPSID Grant funding from the Department of Education

The TPSID grant (Transition and Post-Secondary Education for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) is designed to develop inclusive education and employment opportunites for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In 2010, the College of Charleston received a $2.3 million federal grant under the model comprehensive Transition and Post-Secondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID). The grant was authored by Dr. Cindi May, Professor of the Psychology Department, and was one of 27 grants awarded nationally. The grant not only provides support for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities who attend the College of Charleston, but also facilitates collaboration with a National Coordinating Center and other leaders in the field.

There are three primary objectives of the TPSID grant:
(1) Optimize students' opportunities for inclusive participation in academic, professional, residential, and social arenas.
(2) Create a culture that embraces diverse learners and employees in order to maximize inclusion in the campus community.
(3) Enhance recruitment and retention of students, and evaluate the effectiveness of our program components.

These three objectives drive our innovative initiatives: faculty training, peer mentoring, career development, research projects, community outreach, speaker series, inclusive residential housing, and collaboration with secondary educational agencies.

 

For more information about the TPSID grant, please contact:
Cindi May - Principal Investigator for TPSID grant
mayc@cofc.edu
843.953.6735

Exciting News!

Great new article co-written by Dr. Cynthia May entitled

"Building Inclusive Campus Communities: A Framework for Inclusion"

available at

http://www.thinkcollege.net/images/stories/26_inclusivecommunities_F.pdf

&

Starting in 2015, we participated in D.E.M.O.S. (Disability and Entrepreneurship: Models of Success) initiative to foster new entrepreneurial endeavors that are first and foremost successful business models, and that also create work environments, workforces, products, and services that are fully inclusive and available to people of all abilities; with an emphasis on inclusion of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The winners of the Spring 2016 competition were Grace Neil ($1,000 for 1st place) and Niko Levigne ($500 for 2nd place). Fall 2016 competition were Maggie Christiansen ($1,000 for 1st place), and Matthew Kobukowski ($500 for 2nd place) & the winners of the Spring 2015 competition were Joseph Catalano ($1,000 for 1st place), and Shelby Hovren ($500 for 2nd place). They all incorporated universal design into their product or service idea. We wish them the best as they pursue their ideas. Watch for future competitions to come in 2016 & 2017. More information regarding D.E.M.O.S. is available here: http://sb.cofc.edu/centers/centerforentrepreneurship/demos/index.php



For more information about the REACH Program, contact:
Reach@cofc.edu