Three Being Honored at 2004-2005 Daring to Dream Awards Ceremony May 19
Contact: Alan Parks, 581-1236
ORONO –Three individuals will be honored Thursday, May 19, by the UMaine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies for outstanding vision and leadership that contribute to advancing the rights of people with disabilities and their families.
The Daring to Dream Awards luncheon will be held Thursday, May 19 in the McIntire Room of Buchanan Alumni House from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The awards were initiated in 2002 as part of the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies’ 10th anniversary celebration. The first award recipients were recognized for their contributions in laying the foundation for the establishment of the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies at UMaine. The awards today recognize people who have made outstanding contributions toward making the dream of inclusive communities a reality for individuals with disabilities and their families.
Commemorative stained glass award displays are handcrafted each year by local artisan Lisa Raven.
The 2004-2005 award recipients and their awards are:
Mary McElroy, M.Ed., Lawrence High School (Fairfield) special education teacher, the Social Change Award for vision and leadership that promotes social change to advance the rights of people with disabilities. She is a resident of Palmyra.
Richard Aronson, MD, MPH, Maternal and Child Health medical director at the Maine Bureau of Health, Department of Health and Human Services in Augusta, the Public Policy Change Award for vision and leadership promoting public policy changes to advance the civil rights of people with disabilities. He is a resident of Hallowell.
And Rene Jahiel, MD, Ph.D., president of International Health Policy Research in Hartford, Conn., the Scholarship Award for vision and leadership in scholarship that formulates Disability Studies policies and practices.
Jahiel also is the keynote speaker for the event. A member of the American Public Health Association Governing Council, president of International Health Policy Research, lecturer in the University of Connecticut Graduate Program in Public Health and acting president at the Ecole Libres des Hautes Etudes in New York, Jahiel’s address is titled “Dreaming In and Out of Public Health.”
The Community Advisory Committee also will hold its 2005 Annual Meeting after the awards luncheon.
The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies is Maine’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Education, Research and Service. CCI assists people with disabilities throughout their lives, from early education to the elderly, in areas that include early intervention and education, childcare, health, employment, housing and other areas related to full community participation of individuals with disabilities.