MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon discusses issues and topics surrounding the university with members of The State News on Sept. 19. Simon’s recent trip to Ireland focused on advancing mSU research initiatives. Khoa Nguyen/ The State News
MSU’s international collaboration on intellectual disability research recently led MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon to take a trip to Ireland. Although she was on the ground for only about 30 hours, Simon said the trip was important and beneficial to the university.
Simon attended the Daughters of Charity Technology Research into Disability, or DOCTRID, conference where researchers from MSU, several Irish universities and others presented their work in intellectual disability treatment.
MSU began collaborating with DOCTRID in Ireland in 2006 with an undergraduate study abroad program. Since then, the program has expanded to include postdoctoral research associates.
MSU researchers involved in the collaborative research are part of Research in Autism, Intellectual and other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, or RAIND, which spans across seven colleges.
“We’re living in this global society,” said J. Ian Gray, retired MSU vice president for research and graduate studies who remains active in MSU-DOCTRID efforts. “One of the things we can do is find the right partners. They do things differently (in Ireland), and we need to go over there with open minds and glean as much as we can.”
DOCTRID brings together MSU and all of Ireland’s 11 public universities from the north and south for this yearly conference and collaborative work throughout the year.
“We learn to help those who have little voice in society to make sure they can live in a society with self-esteem, and that’s something the Irish do very well in practice,” Gray said.
Simon said collaborations like this one are at the core of what MSU is all about as a globally-recognized university with international aspirations.
“If you think about the issues that face us with the growth of the number of individuals in these categories, we need to address the diseases and how people can be more productive and how we can care for them in ways that meet some of the concerns about their well being and in a manner that uses cutting edge knowledge in effective and efficient ways,” Simon said.
Her role at the conference was to represent MSU and show the university’s support for the program.
She also worked to encourage further collaboration with the European Union, and to reassure private sector investors that MSU excels in this research and it’s a top priority.
MSU’s Michael Leahy, professor in counseling, educational psychology and special education, was the co-chair of the conference and was instrumental in establishing the international research connection.
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