Grant Provides Research Opportunity and Stipend for Doctoral Students

A new $1.25 million leadership grant will fund five new doctoral students, and their $34,000 stipend, in order to address some of the most pressing issues in the field of special education.

The Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education awarded the highly competitive grant to the Department of Special Education‘s Tim Lewis, Professor, and Chad Rose, Associate Professor, for the proposal, “Preparing Special Ed Scholars to Address Problem Behavior in High Need Schools.” In addition to paying tuition and travel funds, the grant offers a $34,000 annual stipend to allow the future scholars to conduct research and be a full-time student.

The most recent federal statistics indicate that nearly six million students received special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Nearly every U.S. state has reported a shortage in special education educators. This grant will impact the number and quality of special educators by creating more research and training more practitioners.

“There is a critical shortage in the areas of social, emotional, and behavioral problems among students with disabilities and those at-risk,” said Lewis. “The College of Education has been an international leader in preparing faculty, researchers and district and state leaders in this area, and I look forward to working with the next generation of leaders.”

Both Lewis and Rose began their careers by receiving this same leadership grant funding. Lewis began implementing the MU Center for Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (MO SW-PBS) in 1998, and the school climate and behavior support system is now used in 680 Missouri schools and 26,000 schools across the country.

Rose is the director of the Mizzou Ed Bully Prevention Lab, which works to establish bully-free schools through training, intervention, and policy. Since beginning in 2016, the Bully Prevention Lab has expanded work throughout Missouri and the United States, while employing nearly 30 students.

“This is a really great opportunity for someone who is passionate about the field to really throw themselves into a full-time program,” said Rose. “These recipients are going to work with some of the leading scholars at Mizzou and at other research-intensive universities across the nation.”

Applicants should email Tim Lewis or Chad Rose for more information.

The full information on admittance and degree requirements is available on the degree website.