The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service. We work with and for people with disabilities and family members, service providers and advocates, researchers and policy makers.
UCEDD staff members, spring 2006
Leadership:
Director: Elisabeth Dykens, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology & Human Development
Co-Director: Elise McMillan, J.D.
Chair of Community Advisory Council: Doria Panvini
Mission: To provide innovative leadership in education, research, and service to promote the independence. self-determination, productivity, integration, and inclusion of individuals with developmental disabilities and to provide supports for their families.
The Center has four major areas of emphasis:
- Education and early intervention
- Supports for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families
- Health and mental health
- Recreation and the arts, and adult service pilot programs.
Included are Vanderbilt Kennedy Center clinics and programs, as well as clinics and programs at Vanderbilt and in the community in which the Center is a partner. In all four areas, Center faculty and staff engaged in training, service, research, and dissemination.
National Network: The Center for Excellence is designated by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, and it is one of a national network of 64 University Centers for Excellence coordinated by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.
Tennessee Developmental Disabilities Network: The Center for Excellence works in partnership with the Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities (also a University Center for Excellence), the University of Tennessee Health Science Center; the Disability Law and Advocacy Center of Tennessee; and the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities. All are funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.
Community Collaboration: The Center for Excellence aligns itself with the community through the guidance of the Community Advisory Council. It also aims to enhance collaborative efforts throughout the community by creating partnerships with leading community organizations that serve individuals with disabilities and their families.
Developmental disabilities definition
Contact:
Toll Free: 866-936-8852
TDD Toll Free: 800-273-9595
ucedd@vanderbilt.edu