Each academic year, the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) will provide stipends for up to five members of the Syracuse University community selected from different colleges and nominated by their respective SU deans to be Burton Blatt Fellows. The BBI Fellows program is for student (Junior Fellow) and faculty (Senior Fellow) participants to gain first hand experience with the interdisciplinary study and application of disability law and policy as it relates to the advancement of the social and economic independence of Americans with disabilities.
BBI Fellows will be offered an opportunity to be directly involved in policy development, research, and analysis on a range of issues, including education, civil rights, technology, health care, housing, and employment. Fellows are required to participate in monthly seminars with University Professor and Chairman Peter Blanck, along with leaders who are involved daily in the interpretation, evaluation, and development of public policy related to persons with disabilities and their families. Fellows will have the opportunity to engage with the BBI Washington, D.C. and New York City offices.
Each BBI Fellow will receive a stipend of $20,000, paid to his or her home college, to defray expenses and be compensated for the required development of a research or policy paper on topics of interest agreed to by the Fellow and Professor Blanck. Fellows will be provided office space and modest administrative support at BBI headquarters in Crouse Hinds, Suite 300. Fellows are required to attend monthly lunch meetings with Blanck and other invited guests.
The BBI Fellow Program initially will be sustained by committed funding of $125,000 annually and an anticipated endowment to permanently sustain the program.