Contact: Maridith Geuder
A five-year federal grant of more than $3 million is extending the work of a longtime Mississippi State research program supporting professionals who work with the blind or severely visually impaired.
The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision was established on the university campus in 1981 and remains the only center of its kind. The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, a unit of the United States Department of Education, provides the funding.
"Because funding is nationally competitive, we must reapply every five years," said J. Elton Moore, RRTC director. The recent grant extends the center's work through 2006.
While other universities have research programs in this field, the MSU center is distinct in helping to improve employment and independent living opportunities, Moore said. The center's wide variety of national activities include, among others:
--Developing and providing training activities to state business enterprise programs;
--Providing the latest technology training to vocational rehabilitation staff members;
--Providing research and programming opportunities to increase the numbers of rehabilitation counselors and documenting effective methods to remove workplace barriers.
To accomplish its mission, the RRTC cooperates with a variety of national agencies, including the American Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, National Federation of the Blind, and Regional Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs.
Earlier this year, the center launched a new curriculum that leads to a certificate as a vision specialist in vocational rehabilitation. That program is made possible by a four-year, $400,000 grant from the Education Department's Rehabilitation Services Administration.
NEWS EDITOR/DIRECTORS: For additional information on the RRTC and its work, contact Dr. Moore at (662) 325-2001 or jemoore@ra.msstate.edu.