UW–Madison alumna Saili Kulkarni, who earned a PhD in special education from the School of Education’s Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education in 2015, has recently received two major honors.
Kulkarni, now an associate professor in the Department of Special Education at San Jose State University, was recognized as the university’s 2024 Outstanding Professor. The Outstanding Professor Award recognizes a San Jose State faculty member for their overall excellence in their academic assignment, including teaching and supporting student success and achievement.
Kulkarni also recently received funding through the Foundation for Child Development’s Young Scholars Program for her project titled, “Reducing Harmful Discipline Practices for Young Children of Color With Disabilities: Co-Developing an Online Professional Learning Series for Early Childhood Educators and Leaders With Families, Teachers, and Administrators.”
On being chosen as a Young Scholar, Kulkarni says, “I am honored to have been selected as one of the 2024 Young Scholars for the Foundation of Child Development. I am excited to be one of the first scholars to incorporate a framework of Disability Studies Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) into analyzing discipline disparities for young children of color with disabilities and work closely with families, educators, and leaders to support teachers to reimagine behavior and discipline in early childhood classrooms. I am also thrilled to co-develop a learning series for teachers that aims to shift classroom practices and discipline policies.”