Dr. Diane Ryndak, a professor in the UNC Greensboro Department of Specialized Education Services, has been selected for induction to the Illinois State University College of Education’s Hall of Fame. Ryndak is one of eight ISU alumni being celebrated with this honor later this month.
Ryndak graduated from ISU with a bachelor’s degree in special education in 1974 before earning a master’s degree in special education from the University of Vermont and a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Over her career, Ryndak has served as a champion for the rights of those with disabilities, advocating for the use of evidence-based practices to make general education accessible for students facing severe and multiple disabilities. She is a recipient of the TASH Inclusive Education and the Distinguished Reviewer Awards, as well as the Special and Inclusive Education Research SIG Distinguished Researcher Award from the American Educational Research Association.
She has been an advocate for individuals with extensive and pervasive support needs for decades. Ryndak has worked directly with families of students to battle the injustices of inequalities in schools, helping to create a more inclusive educational environment for all students. She has guided school districts to facilitate school transformation and the development of systems of support to increase the use of evidence-based, inclusive education practices and improve outcomes for all students.
She continues to prepare the next generation of special education teachers, university faculty members, and researchers who will work to better the education and lives of those with special needs. Her guidance extends beyond the borders of the United States, as well. Ryndak serves as a visiting lecturer, advocate, and researcher in Poland where she completed Fulbright Research regarding inclusive education. She collaborates with and mentors former doctoral students who are now faculty and researchers who have returned home to Saudi Arabia to advocate for educational change, a nation where inclusive educational practices are uncommon, who returned home as advocates for change.
Ryndak has served multiple terms on the Executive Board for TASH and on editorial boards for several professional journals.
