Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Katherine McDonald appointed Falk College assistant professor of public health and Burton Blatt Institute faculty fellow

Tuesday, August 2, 2011, By News Staff
Share
Burton Blatt Institute

Katherine McDonald will assume a dual appointment this fall as assistant professor of public health in the Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, and as a faculty fellow with the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.

macdonald“The dual appointment reflects a unique and unprecedented partnership between SU’s colleges and BBI toward infusing disability awareness across disciplines. McDonald will contribute to strengthening students’ understanding of disability and working to improve the lives of persons with disabilities,” says University Professor Peter Blanck, BBI chairman.

In the fall semester, she will teach a graduate seminar on disability and health. In addition, McDonald will lead BBI’s cutting-edge research activities on community participation for people with disabilities.

“With its historic role in promoting quality of life for persons with disabilities, I am honored to be joining the faculty at Syracuse University. At SU, I will have the opportunity to work side-by-side with leading scholars concerned with social justice and well-being for long marginalized populations,” says McDonald.

“As a native of Syracuse and a community psychologist, it is particularly meaningful to participate in SU’s vision to foster respectful, effective, longstanding academic-community partnerships. I greatly look forward to collaborations with my new colleagues and students of all levels.”

McDonald comes to SU and BBI from Portland State University (Oregon), where she served as an assistant professor of psychology. McDonald’s work, research and service center on using ecological theory and action research to understand and promote the community integration of individuals with disabilities.

Her current research examines the inclusion of persons with developmental disabilities in research, participation in online communities and its relationship to autistic adults’ social connectedness and well-being, health disparities experienced by autistic adults and community participation among persons with disabilities.

“We are extremely eager to have Katie join the college in partnership with the Burton Blatt Institute. She will lead the further integration of disability studies as a focus throughout the college in teaching, research and community work,” says Diane Lyden Murphy, dean of the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. “Katie is establishing herself as a robust young scholar on the cutting edge of scholarship in this important field, which crosses all of the academic programs in the college.”

She received the Stevens-Shapiro Fellowship from the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities and was an international visiting fellow at the University of Western Sydney in Australia. McDonald received her bachelor’s degree with distinction in human development and family studies, with a minor in French from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in community and prevention research psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Libraries’ Offers Extended Hours, Destress Activities During Finals Week Fall 2023
    Monday, December 4, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • Celebrating Karen Davis’s Impact and Legacy
    Friday, December 1, 2023, By Kwami Maranga
  • Hendricks Chapel to Ring in the Season with ‘Horns and Harmonies’ Dec. 17
    Friday, December 1, 2023, By News Staff
  • Rachel Steinhardt Awarded NSF Grant to Study Brain Chemistry
    Friday, December 1, 2023, By News Staff
  • From Quad to Commission: Kristen Northrop Reflects on Raising 2 U.S. Army Officers at Syracuse University
    Friday, December 1, 2023, By Charlie Poag

More In Campus & Community

Libraries’ Offers Extended Hours, Destress Activities During Finals Week Fall 2023

Syracuse University Libraries is offering extended hours during finals week: Friday, Dec. 15,  through Monday, Dec. 18: Bird Library will be open 24 hours a day and Carnegie Library will be open until 11 p.m. The Libraries is also offering…

Syracuse University’s Football Team Bowl-Bound, Will Play South Florida in the Boca Raton Bowl

For the second straight season, the Syracuse University football team has qualified for a bowl game, the first time the Orange have secured back-to-back postseason appearances since the 2012 and 2013 seasons. After closing out the regular season with a…

Celebrating Karen Davis’s Impact and Legacy

Karen Davis’ ’83, G’90 desire to create a welcoming environment for all has permeated every corner of the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). Building the college’s career services from the ground up and becoming the assistant dean of…

Hendricks Chapel to Ring in the Season with ‘Horns and Harmonies’ Dec. 17

“Horns and Harmonies” returns to Syracuse University’s Hendricks Chapel on Sunday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. with a festive program of songs, carols and instrumental classics. Free and open to the public, the concert features the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble…

Hon. James E. Graves Jr. G’80, L’80 Will Be the College of Law’s 2024 Commencement Speaker

The College of Law announces that the Hon. James E. Graves Jr. G’80, L’80 will be the Class of 2024 Commencement Speaker. Graves is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is the…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.