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Dr. Karen A. Waldron is a �԰����� Professor Emerita (Education) and served as Director of Special Education for 28 years, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses to prepare educators for work with students with special needs. A former teacher of Elementary and Secondary levels, she received her B.A. from SUNY New Paltz (Teaching Certificate), her M.S. (Reading Specialist Certificate) and Ph.D. (Special Education Administration and Educational Administration Certificates) from Syracuse University.

Within �԰�����’s community-based model of collaborative interactions with school districts, professionals, and families, Waldron initiated research and programs focused on needs of�� students from ethnic/minority backgrounds who lack economic opportunities. She developed and directed the �԰����� Special Education Clinic; the Psycho-Educational Clinic for the University of Texas Health Science Center, Dept. of Child Psychiatry; �԰�����’s Special Education Certification Program for regional teachers; and The Inclusive Network Consortium of 200 teachers and administrators from 65 schools, collaborating to design model Inclusion programs to incorporate children with disabilities into general education classrooms.

She consulted in Northern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Czech Republic, presenting hundreds of lectures and professional workshops supporting the needs of women and children at risk of poverty, discrimination, and abuse.

In 2005, she received the��Headliner Award for Professional Achievement from the San Antonio Women in Communications for her international and community work in developing programs for children with disabilities, as well as her ongoing involvement with media, including television, radio, magazine and news journals.

Waldron has published six books as well as numerous Research articles and Handbooks. Her book, Introduction to a��Special Education: The Inclusive Classroom (1996) (Albany, NY: Delmar/ITP/Wadsworth), was an international university text.

Her work with Co-Editors Janice Brazil and Laura Labatt, resulted in��Risk, Courage, and Women: Contemporary Voices in Prose and Poetry (2007) (Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press). This book received the “Best of the Best from University Presses” Award, as well as Honors from the American Library Association. It was nominated for the Amelia Bloomer Award for Young Feminist Books.

Waldron’s most recent book (2023),��A Woman’s Journey: Not Done Yet, explores how individuals can avoid stereotypes of age, race, ethnicity, and gender, finding fulfillment by moving forward to create impactful societal changes. Published by �԰����� Library’s Digital Commons, it is available at

Dr. Michael Steer was Senior Lecturer in Vision Impairment at Renwick Centre, Royal Institute for Deaf & Blind Children, New South Wales, Australia. Prior experiences include Director of the New South Wales Office on Disability; Principal Advisor, Disability Policy for Community Services Victoria; Director of the Integration Unit, Ministry of Education in Victoria; and Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health & Behavioural Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne. Prior to his arrival in Australia, Dr. Steer was Director of Special Education, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador; Principal of the Psychoeducational Teaching Laboratory, Syracuse University; and Principal, Montreal Association School for the Blind. He has a Ph.D. in Special Education Administration, from Syracuse University (New York), with Masters Degrees in Public Policy with Honours (Melbourne), Vision Impairment (Boston College) and Education (Southern Illinois), BA (SGWU, Montreal), Teachers Certificate and Diploma from St. Luke's College,�� Exeter University, England. His professional associations included the Australian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability, Council for Exceptional Children, Phi Delta Kappa, American Association on Mental Retardation, NSW State Counsellor, South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment, Convenor, Australian Heads of Services (Vision Impairment), Convenor, Round Table on Information Access for People with a Print Disability and NSW State Representative for the Australian Deafblind Council, and NSW State Representative for the International Council for Education of Vision Impaired (ICEVI). Dr. Steer became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009.

Dolly Bhargava completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Speech Pathology from the University of Sydney, a Master of Special Education from the University of Newcastle, and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

Midway through her career she realized her passion was in supporting children, adolescents and adults with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). She started working extensively with individuals with EBD in a variety of contexts such as family homes, childcare centres, preschool, schools, respite care, post school options, employment services and corrective services.

Benjamin Harris is the Dean of the Library and a Professor at �԰�����.�� Beginning in 2004 as librarian for the Education Department, he has been a career-long advocate for �԰�����'s Education faculty and students.�� Among other topics, his scholarship has focused on the ways that communicating, learning, and working in communities complicates the way we think about individual-centric education standards. Benjamin has regularly contributed to the development and maintenance of the Students with Vision and Hearing Loss website.

Bradley Dusing is a Teaching, Learning, and Research Support Librarian with the �԰����� Coates Library and has just begun his career as Assistant Professor at �԰����� since November 1st, 2023. He is liaison to departments including African American Studies, Communication, Film Studies, Education, History, Philosophy, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Religion, and Sport Management. Prior to joining the library faculty at �԰�����, Bradley spent fifteen years in public education as a classroom teacher and librarian.