UMD, Vanderbilt Receive $2.5M Grant to Train Future Special Education Leaders

The University of Maryland and Vanderbilt University have received a $2.5 million federal grant to fully fund tuition and provide stipends for a cohort of doctoral students, who will be trained as leaders in special education.

Project Sustain is a four-year program funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. Set to launch in Fall 2025, it will prepare future leaders to enter higher education, school districts or research organizations and train special education teachers and leaders. Applications are due Dec. 1.

The program has a particular focus on ensuring that special education practices rooted in research are not only adopted in schools but sustained over the long term, said Jade Wexler, co-principal investigator of Project Sustain and professor of special education at UMD. She's working with UMD special education Assistant Professor Veronica Kang, co-principal investigator and co-director of Project Sustain.

“We have a lot of support for evidence-based interventions in special education. But sustaining them and closing that research-to-practice gap is a challenge,” said Wexler.

The program also emphasizes serving linguistically and culturally diverse populations and collaborating with families and communities.

The Project Sustain cohort will include four students at UMD and four students at Vanderbilt University. The students based at UMD will take the same coursework as current UMD special education doctoral students, but will also participate in summer intensives, training opportunities and monthly virtual seminars along with the students based at Vanderbilt. As part of Project Sustain, students will receive stipends for dissertation support, travel and conference expenses.

The UMD-based doctoral students will also have opportunities to participate in internships in the Washington, D.C., area and support special education research and projects underway at UMD.

Project Sustain students will benefit from the expertise of faculty at both UMD and Vanderbilt, who will serve as advisors, mentors and dissertation committee members.

Jason Chow, associate professor at Vanderbilt University, leads the project as principal investigator. The team at Vanderbilt also includes two co-principal investigators: Jennifer Ledford, associate professor, and Kristen Granger, assistant professor.