Special Education Department to receive federal grant

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The University of St. Thomas’ Special Education Department has been approved for five-year grant. Thirty-two students will be able to come to St. Thomas tuition-free under the grant. (TommieMedia/Taylor Smith)
The University of St. Thomas’ Special Education Department has been approved for five-year grant. Thirty-two students will be able to come to St. Thomas tuition-free under the grant. (TommieMedia/Taylor Smith)

The University of St. Thomas will receive a five-year federal grant of more than $1 million to prepare special education teachers beginning with the 2016-2017 school year.

The grant will come from the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs and will allow for 32 students to come to St. Thomas tuition-free.

Many schools applied for similar grants, but St. Thomas Professor Lynn Stansberry Brusnahan, one of the grant’s writers, felt that St. Thomas was chosen due to the specificity of the grant.

Stansberry Brusnahan said the grant emphasizes the large Somali population in the Twin Cities and how the majority of special education teachers are Caucasian women. She believes there needs to be more diversity among special education teachers.

“We really focused on our mission of advancing the common good,” Stansberry Brusnahan said. “St. Thomas is looking to diversify the teacher force.”

Stansberry Brusnahan also attributes the grant’s approval to the history of the university’s education department.

“At St. Thomas we are proud of our teaching,” Stansberry Brusnahan said. “I think that having a teacher education program that is known for being high quality definitely helped us.”

Junior and special education minor Elizabeth Hughes thinks the grant is important to get more students involved in the program.

“Special education has come a long way, but there is so much room for growth,” Hughes said. “With the new federal grant, I would hope that more people choose to be a part of the program.”

Stansberry Brusnahan could not be happier since she learned the grant was approved.

“I’ve been smiling ever since,” she said. “We’ve had a mission to diversify our student population, and this grant will give us the ability to do that.”

St. Thomas got official notice that the grant had been approved on April 26. The Special Education Department received a call from Sen. Al Franken congratulating them on receiving the grant.

When the approval was announced at a local Somali community event, there was a standing ovation.

Taylor Smith can be reached at smit9660@stthomas.edu.