News

Leading Spanish Authority, Professor Montserrat Pereña Vicente, Appointed BBI Senior International Fellow

March 20, 2017

Montserrat Perena-Vincente
Montserrat Perena-Vincente

Montserrat Pereña Vicente, professor of law and senior researcher at King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, Spain, has been appointed a Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) Senior International Fellow. Professor Perena is also director of the Research Centre on Persons Law and Patrimony Law, where her studies focus on the rights of people with disabilities and the impact of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on legislation and legal practice of countries in continental Europe, South America, and Cuba. Continue Reading

Derrick Cogburn Joins Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC) Board of Directors

February 28, 2017

Dr. Derrick L. Cogburn, Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Public Policy (IDPP) and Associate Professor at American University, Joins Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC) Board of Directors

Syracuse, NY – Dr. Derrick L. Cogburn, Associate Professor at the School of International Service at American University and Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Public Policy (IDPP), has been appointed to the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC) Board of Directors. Continue Reading

BBI CHAT Alum With Cerebral Palsy Finally Finds His Voice

February 6, 2017

Leo True-Frost on NBC Nightly News

Recently, Leo True-Frost, an alum of the BBI CHAT Program (Communication Hope through Assistive Technology), was featured in a profile by NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Eight-year-old Leo has cerebral palsy, which makes it difficult for him to fully articulate words. Thus, he uses a computer-generated voice to communicate with family and friends. However, computerized voices are not individualized to the user and can cause the user to lose part of their identity. Leo’s computer-generated voice, for example, has a frequency similar to a 40-year-old man, not an eight-year-old. Continue Reading

BBI hosts delegation from Kurumi-kai Welfare Foundation for Disabled in Japan

January 11, 2017

Kurumi-kai-delegation
Kurumi-kai-delegation

On January 10, 2017 BBI hosted a delegation from the Kurumi-kai Welfare Foundation for the Disabled in Japan. The delegation’s visit to the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University was to learn about its important history and the crucial role it has played and continues to play in advancing opportunities and community and economic participation for people with disabilities.

The Kurumi-kai Welfare Foundation for the Disabled provides a wide variety of services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Japan including providing job training, and operating service centers, special schools for children, and nursing homes for adults.  Continue Reading

Michael Perry Joins GUDC Board of Directors

January 3, 2017

During GUDC’s 2016 board meeting Michael Perry, AIA, LEED AP of Progressive AE was appointed to the GUDC Board of Directors by official vote. The board is made up of a diverse membership spanning multiple disciplines and industries. Michael Perry now lends his deep knowledge of built environments and Universal Design related planning and execution. Perry will be an asset to the board given his design expertise, architectural perspective and track record of excellence as Executive Vice President of Progressive AE, a full-service architectural firm with offices in Grand Rapids, MI and Charlotte, NC. Continue Reading

Freedom for Ryan King

December 12, 2016

In a landmark Court victory, Ryan King won the right to direct his own life, with the support of his family, finally free after 15 years under a guardianship he never needed. Continue Reading

GUDC Directors to Appear on “ADA Live!” (WADA) Show

December 7, 2016

On Wednesday, December 7th, Global Universal Design Commission Executive Director Diana Foote and Associate Director Michael Rotella will appear on “ADA Live!” (WADA), a monthly internet radio show produced by the Southeast ADA Center. The Southeast ADA Center is part of the ADA National Network and is an ongoing project of the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University. Continue Reading

Blanck to Speak on Developments in Supported Decision-Making at UC San Diego

November 7, 2016

BBI Chairman Peter Blanck to Speak on Developments in Supported Decision-Making at UC San Diego

The UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging and the Stein Institute for Research on Aging Invite you to a Special Talk on Self-Determination and Legal Capacity: Developments in Supported Decision-Making for Persons with Intellectual and Psychosocial Disabilities

Continue Reading