Page 29 - 2022 July Report

Resilience
State University System of Florida annual meeting report (2)
THE JOHNSON SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Lynn Nelson reported that the 12 state universities had awarded 539 Johnson Scholars scholarships to students with disabilities this past academic year for a total of $963,208 awarded in the fall and spring. Individuals with learning/specific learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and emotional/psychological/psychiatric disabilities represented a large portion of the Johnson Scholars in 2021-22. SUSF institutions reported that 79 Johnson Scholars graduated with a baccalaureate degree this past year. She then introduced Kirsten Harvey, who serves as Director of Student Success and Workforce Alignment for the Board of Governors. Kirsten will be working with Lynn on the Johnson Scholarship Program.
JSF PROGRAMING AND CHALLENGE GRANTS
Bobby thanked Lynn and reiterated that the Foundation remains very committed and pleased with this program. In addition to the better than a half a million dollars going to the Board of Governors for distribution to the universities, he announced that this year’s full match of $150,000 in challenge funds will be going to the universities this month. He then announced that the Foundation’s Grant Program Committee voted to make the same $150,000 offer for scholarships for the 2021/2022 academic year.
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PROJECT
Bea introduced this topic by commending the participants on the great job they’re doing. She stated that while the schools are doing well on their short-term goals of helping students graduate, helping these students find quality employment remains a challenge. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the difference in the number of employed people with disabilities
compared to those without disabilities slightly exceeds 44%, and the unemployment rate is more than 5% between the two groups. There are no clear reasons for the disparity, and Foundation wants to be part of the solution. She then introduced Maxine and Karly.
Maxine provided an overview of the GWU research project,
the goal of which is learn about post-college experiences of
students. She said that those in attendance are the knowledge
holders and a critical piece of the puzzle. She noted that
employment statistics haven’t changed much during
COVID-19. Employment for most people with disabilities is Maxine Freund of GWU addresses the group. part-time rather than full-time. However, there isn’t an existing
source of data collection that is reliable. For that reason, JSF
and GWU are inviting the SUSF institutions to be part of a 3-phase study. GWU needs help with gaining access to the Johnson Scholarship recipients who have graduated and contacts with each school’s Career Services office. This will help the researchers understand what employers need to do to prepare for employees with disabilities and identify promising practices.
She explained that the next steps involve meeting with the representatives and conducting focus group discussions. Then they will be asked to help obtain IRB approval from their institutions. She explained that participation is voluntary, and schools could drop in and out of the project at any time. She said that audio recording equipment would be used today, but to protect each person’s privacy, every participant would be assigned an ID number and a pseudonym. At this point, those not participating left the room.
Following this special meeting session and lunch, the group reconvened for a brief follow-up report on the special meeting. Maxine commended everyone for the participation and valuable input. The GWU team will now analyze what they have learned and be in touch individually with each of the potentially participating universities.
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