Department Of Rehabilitation Counseling Receives Grant For Disability Research

By Malorie Burkett

Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Rehabilitation Counseling in the School of Allied Health Professions has received a $4.25 million grant from the Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

"This grant establishes VCU as a national force in rehabilitation counseling," said Robert L. Clifton, Ed.D., interim chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling. "A grant of this magnitude places the department in a position to secure additional large grants from NIH and other agencies."

The grant will be used to establish VCU's national Coordination, Outreach and Research Center, which, according to Clifton, will enhance and improve the effectiveness of NIDRR's network of 10 regional Americans with Disabilities Act resource centers.

The center is under the direction of Brian T. McMahon, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling and principal investigator.

McMahon says that the center's mission is to advance the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by minimizing workplace discrimination and eventually developing a Flat Earth – a term that refers to a society free from architectural, communication or attitudinal barriers.

The department also is involved in studying emerging populations requiring rehabilitation interventions, innovations in counseling methods, life-care planning and substance abuse among individuals with disabilities. 

The Department of Rehabilitation Counseling has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as the 13th best rehabilitation counseling department in American universities, a seven-position improvement over the department's previous rank.  

For more information, visit http://www.rehab.vcu.edu/.