Bud Buckhout once worked with a student who made such a detailed diorama in place of an essay that her professor changed the syllabus to allow more academic choice for all students.

Since becoming the director of InclusiveU in January 2014, rethinking how students learn and display their knowledge has been Buckhoult’s job. He coordinates programs, assists students and strengthens InclusiveU’s connections to campus.

InclusiveU provides individualized academic support for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Programs within InclusiveU such as Peer2Peer Project, the Access Program and Project SEARCH all fall under InclusiveU’s responsibilities. InclusiveU itself advocates for access to higher education for students with disabilities.

According to the InclusiveU website, the program was created to “build higher expectations for higher education.” By refusing to create separate classes for their students, InclusiveU aims to create an environment in which students with disabilities are not as removed from the university experience.

“SU is a very accepting environment,” Buckhout said. “It’s just realizing that people come on campus for different reasons.”

Buckhout said his favorite part of his job is seeing friendships form between matriculated and non-matriculated students, including those made through InclusiveU’s Peer2Peer program which foster campus interactions.

He also said he enjoys seeing students’ hard work pay off. Several of the students he worked with have graduated through University College, and he loves seeing the success of students in InclusiveU, Buckhout said.

Although InclusiveU students take Syracuse University classes, accommodations are sometimes made to play to a student’s strengths.

“We want this to be fully inclusive,” Buckhout said.

He emphasized that InclusiveU students may learn differently, but they are still absorbing the same content and taking the same classes — it’s all a matter of finding which path will make the student most successful.

And InclusiveU is still growing. The program recently received a grant which will allow it to start working with high school students in the area.

If Buckhout has learned one thing through his position, he said it’s to never accept what he’s told.

“I’ve seen students come through that were told not to expect much by their parents,” he said. “Yet I’ve seen them accomplish some pretty amazing things.”

Published on March 23, 2016 at 12:01 am