[rehab] Ann Macy Sullivan Scholarship

[B.J. LeJeune]

Here is a great opportunity for someone either 
interested in getting a PhD or someone who is 
looking for some research experience after 
completing their PhD. This is specifically 
designed to encourage persons who are blind or 
visually impaired to be able to obtain education 
and experience in the field of blindness 
rehabilitation.  Our university programs need 
more PhD's and this is a great opportunity to 
invest in the future.  Besides, Starkville MS is 
a great place to live! Thanks, BJ LeJeune 
Mississippi State University Applications Invited 
for Research Training Program Mississippi State 
University’s Research and Training Center on 
Blindness and Low Vision (MSU-RTC), an 
independent center within the College of 
Education, is seeking a Ph.D. graduate student or 
post-doctoral candidate as the new Anne Sullivan 
Macy Scholar beginning in the Fall of 2011 or 
Spring of 2012. This program honors the unique 
contribution of Anne Sullivan Macy to the 
extraordinary educational experience of Helen 
Keller. A candidate who is blind or visually 
impaired is preferred, but applicants with 
significant experience in the blindness field who 
are not blind or visually impaired will also be 
considered. Candidates must have or be seeking a 
Ph.D. in the social sciences (e.g., 
rehabilitation counseling, psychology, social 
work, sociology, special education). Since 1981, 
MSU-RTC’s mission has been to enhance 
employment and independent living outcomes for 
individuals who are blind or visually impaired. 
In keeping with this mission, the goal of this 
training program is to support development of a 
scientist-practitioner who is well grounded in 
state-of-the-science research methods and 
practices, focused within the field of blindness 
and low vision. As a post-doctoral position, the 
program offers salary with full benefits and a 
tuition waiver for up to six credit hours. A 
student working toward a Ph.D. receives a full 
tuition waiver and monthly stipend. In either 
case, the recipient will participate in ongoing 
applied research, will have opportunities to 
participate in knowledge translation activities 
with professional and consumer advocacy 
organizations, state vocational rehabilitation 
agencies for the blind, and will attend regional 
and national training conferences. The Anne 
Sullivan Macy Research Training Program was 
established in 1992, supported in part by funding 
from the National Institute on Disability and 
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). Previous award 
recipients have gone on to work as researchers, 
professors, and administrators. The very first 
Anne Sullivan Macy Scholar, Dr. Brenda Cavenaugh, 
served as Interim Director of MSU-RTC from 2007 ­ 
2010. The current research training progrram will 
be funded under MSU-RTC’s current 5-year NIDRR 
grant: Rehabilitation Research and Training 
Center (RRTC) on Employment Outcomes for 
Individuals Who are Blind or Visually Impaired. 
To learn more and to apply for the Anne Sullivan 
Macy Research Training Program, visit MSU-RTC’s 
website at http://www.blind.msstate.edu and 
select the “Employment Opportunities” button 
on the front page. Potential applicants are also 
encouraged to contact Dr. Michele C. McDonnall, 
MSU-RTC Interim Director, at (662) 325-2001 or 
via email at M.Mcdonnall at msstate.edu 
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