It’s one of our favorite times of year when students, parents, teachers, college staff and faculty, and others gather to discuss and share information about inclusive postsecondary education. We are talking about the State of the Art Conference on Inclusive Postsecondary Education and Individuals with Intellectual Disability (SOTA) in Syracuse, New York, happening October 18 – 20. This year’s conference theme is "A Decade of Progress at State of the Art: Exploring the Next Frontier of Inclusive Higher Education" and we are excited!
October 18 kicks off with Susanna Miller-Raines and Danie Roberts-Dahm of the Think College Inclusive Higher Education Network leading a pre-conference capacity building institute on building state and regional inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) alliances. This all-day institute will feature representatives from established alliances in the Midwest and Southeast.
An Inclusive College Fair will be held from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm that day, with nearly 30 colleges and universities participating! Students and families will have the opportunity to mingle with representatives from these schools and learn more about college options. Think College will be there too, sharing their national listing of the over 310 college programs in the US.
The State of the Art conference and the concurrent Student Leadership Conference, or SLC, open on October 19. The SLC is for current and potential college students to gather and learn together about topics like academics, advocacy, health, internships and employment, relationships and social life, and more.
Special guest Valerie Williams, Director, US Office of Special Education Programs will present during the morning plenary session. along with our friend and colleague, Beth Myers, the SOTA Conference Chair. Our own Meg Grigal will participate as well. There are so many amazing professionals and students who will be presenting at this conference!
Here is a lineup of sessions being presented by Think College staff and partners:
Wednesday, October 19
8:30 am – 10 am
Plenary Session: 10 Years of State of the Art: What is the Next Frontier
Presented by Beth Myers, PhD, Meg Grigal, PhD, and others
10:15 am – 11:30 am
Working with Guardianship on College Campuses
Presented by Kathy Becht, PhD
1:45 pm – 2:45 pm
Becoming Accreditation Ready
Presented by Martha Mock, PhD, Debra Hart, Cate Weir, Stephanie Smith Lee
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm
High School Parent Information Session
Presented by Think College staff
3:00 pm – 3:45 pm
Student Feedback Session
Facilitated by Liz Weintraub, Rebecca Lazo, Sara Pound, Arin Rook
Thursday, October 20
7:30 am – 8:30 am
Research Affinity Group meeting (LIVE!)
Facilitated by Clare Papay, Ph.D
9:45 am – 11:00 am
Update on State and Federal Policy
Presented by Denise Rozell and Stephanie Smith Lee
11:15 am – 12:30 pm
More than a Decade of Data: What we Know about Inclusive Higher Education for Students with ID from TPSIDs
Presented by Meg Grigal, PhD and Clare Papay, PhD
3:15 pm – 4:00 pm
Think College Policy Advocates panel
Facilitated by Liz Weintraub, featuring Think College Policy Advocates participants
For more information about the 2022 State of the Art conference, please visit the official conference website.