Phillip Rumrill, PhD, CRC, appointed Director of Research and Training for the UK Human Development Institute

The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute announces the appointment of Phillip Rumrill, PhD, CRC as the Director of Research and Training with a faculty appointment in the area of Rehabilitation Counseling. Dr. Rumrill received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Keene State College in New Hampshire and his doctorate from the University of Arkansas. He is a nationally Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and most recently served as the Founding Director of the Center for Disability Studies at Kent State University and Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Employment Assistance Services.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Rumrill has authored or co-authored 251 professional journal articles; 42 book chapters, monographs, measurement instruments, and training manuals; and 15 books. He is a highly sought out speaker at national and international conferences in health care, social sciences, rehabilitation, and education and has delivered addresses to consumer, professional, academic, and policymaking audiences in 43 states and U.S. territories and 18 countries since 1992.

Dr. Rumrill has received honors and recognition for his work from such organizations as the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, the National TRIO Foundation, and the National Federation of the Blind. His extensive body of work was recognized as the recipient of the 2016 James F. Garrett Award for a Distinguished Career in Rehabilitation Research from the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association.
His research interests include aging and disability, issues facing students with disabilities in higher education, assistive technology and reasonable accommodations, chronic illness, the career development implications of disability, workplace discrimination, program evaluation, research design and methodology, and self-advocacy strategies for people with disabilities.
Dr. Rumrill will join the University of Kentucky effective January 1, 2020. He will oversee the graduate certificate in Developmental Disabilities, undergraduate certificate in Universal Design, and he will lead strategic planning for research at the Human Development Institute.

Latest Updates

Speaking Through Felt: Katie Peña-Van Zile’s Autistic Voice on Stage

Speaking Through Felt: Katie Peña-Van Zile’s Autistic Voice on Stage

Katie Peña-Van Zile remembers the job that inspired her play, Felt, well. “I was diagnosed with autism in 2021, much …

How an Autistic Advocate Turned Personal Loss into Lifesaving Work

How an Autistic Advocate Turned Personal Loss into Lifesaving Work

Caleb Rader was 13 when his cousin died by suicide. He remembers the funeral vividly—and the decision it sparked in …

Global Accessibility Awareness Day Logo

Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2025

On Nov. 27, 2011, Joe Devon, a web developer out of Los Angeles, wrote an article about the need for …