University Times

Disability policy expert Katherine D. Seelman has been appointed associate dean of Pitt's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS).

Formerly director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, Seelman has worked in the domestic and international policy arena for more than 20 years. She is recognized as an international leader on issues of rehabilitation and disabilities.

During her tenure at NIDRR, Seelman coordinated disability research, particularly in applications of rehabilitation technology to advance the independence of people with disabilities. Under her leadership, NIDRR supported a broad range of technology and medical rehabilitation initiatives, including the first telerehabilitation research engineering center in the United States.

An outspoken advocate for the disabled, Seelman is a member of numerous committees of the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Before assuming her NIDRR post, Seelman, who is hard of hearing, held leadership positions at the National Council on Disability, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities and the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Seelman earned her M.A. and her Ph.D. from New York University, and her B.A. from Hunter College.