Message from the President

I appreciate the opportunity to serve as President of the HECSE organization. The HECSE organization has supported the development of generations of special education leaders and actively advocated for funding and policy designed to improve access and services for individuals with disabilities and their families. It is humbling to now be listed among the impressive list of special education leaders who have served in this role and have built the HECSE organization’s influential reputation. I hope to foster and grow this organization, with the valuable support of HECSE Vice President, Dr. Ashley White, to ensure we continue to advocate for funding and policy that supports the rights of all individuals with disabilities and all universities who are diligently working to prepare future generations of special education teachers and leaders.

I would like to thank previous HECSE Presidents Dr. Cynthia Wilson, Dr. Jeffery Anderson, Dr. Lisa Mondo-Amaya, and Dr. Cindy Vail for their mentorship and guidance. These recent HECSE leaders made significant improvements to the financial stability of HECSE, to the way we serve the special education policy realm, and to see that we must continue to actively work to ensure our membership is truly inclusive.

Over the next two years, I plan to work with the HECSE members to create an even more engaged community, one that encourages outreach and partnerships, one that targets injustice for all individuals with disabilities and works to use policy and education to right those injustices, and one that is welcoming for all who want to contribute to the HECSE mission. If you are interested in helping to serve this mission, please reach out. If you have any questions or believe the HECSE organization can be of service to you or your community, please let me know. You can reach me at corey.pierce@unco.edu.

Sincerely,

Corey D. Pierce, Ph.D.

President, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education

Professor, University of Northern Colorado