Director's Message
Dr. Carl Flowers
Welcome to the Rehabilitation Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, one of the largest and most comprehensive university based rehabilitation education and service programs in the United States. As a division of the College of Education and Human Services (COEHS), the Rehabilitation Institute staff and faculty are dedicated to our mission of improving the lives of person with disabilities through the teaching, research, and service of our faculty and staff.
Our 6 academic programs offer pre-professional training to prepare students to enter a wide variety of positions in rehabilitation and human services settings. We offer bachelor's degrees in Rehabilitation Services and Communication Disorders and Sciences (CDS) and our master's program options include degrees in Behavior Analysis and Therapy (BAT), Communication Disorders and Sciences and Rehabilitation Counseling and Administration (RCA). Our Doctor of Philosophy program prepares graduates for careers as university educators, researchers, clinicians and practitioners. We have more than 3800 alumni working in rehabilitation and rehabilitation education settings on every continent.
Our Rehabilitation Counselor program is ranked 4th in the nation among the 100 rehabilitation counseling programs accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) and the Rehabilitation Institute received the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Commissioner's Award for achievement and distinction in rehabilitation education in 2006. Additionally, over the past decade other Rehabilitation Institute (RI) programs have received a number of awards, including the “Enduring Contribution to Behavior Analysis Award” from the Association for Behavior Analysis for the BAT program and the RCA's Substance Abuse certification program was named the “Outstanding Addiction Education Program” by the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counseling. Many of our faculty have received national awards for their contribution to rehabilitation and rehabilitation education.
The Rehabilitation Institute is more than a group of academic programs: our service programs offer counseling, vocational development and placement, therapy, continuing education and other services in six settings on campus, around the Southern Illinois region and in six states bordering the Great Lakes. In addition to client services, each site provides opportunities for research, and student clinical experience. Our service programs include the Evaluation and Developmental Center, Project 12 Ways, the Clinical Center, the Employability Development Project, the Great Lakes Technical Assistance and Continuing Education (TACE) Center and the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (CASD).
The Rehabilitation Institute has a rich history of preparing students to enter a wide spectrum of positions in rehabilitation and human service settings. I am pleased by your interest in our programs and hope you will find the information you need on our website. Do not hesitate to call us (618) 536-7704 or send us an email if you have additional questions.
Best wishes,
Carl Flowers, Rh. D., CRC, LCPC
Director and Professor