UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz School alumna April Regester, associate professor of special education, and her co-principal investigators at University of Missouri-Saint Louis (UMSL) have received $2.1 million in federal funding from a five-year Department of Education Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) grant to expand the Succeed program.
Succeed, a two-year postsecondary program, is designed to teach students with intellectual and developmental disabilities independent living, academic and job skills as they work toward a Chancellor’s Certificate or potentially matriculate to a degree program. UMSL Succeed has pushed to expand options for students in recent years by implementing the Succeed+ and Succeed Link programs, which support students with disabilities seeking degrees, and strengthening relationships within the UMSL community and local employers.
The project has three essential objectives: creating an individualized four-year program option for students, enhancing support and partnerships in existing programming and building statewide awareness and knowledge of postsecondary programs.
Regester is a tenured Associate Professor at University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she researches friendship and social supports for severely disabled people, autism, inclusive education, and college and adult life skills for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Supported Living. Regester conducted a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the UCSB Koegel Autism Center, and completed her Ph.D. in Special Education, Disabilities and Risk Studies in the Department of Education in 2009, along with a M.A. in Special Education and a Preliminary Education Specialist Credential from the Teacher Education Program.