Robert McCulley, M.Ed., is director of ICI's Northeast Regional Center for Vision Education, an established center within ICI with academic affiliation to the Graduate College of Education. The center was established in 2002 as a northeast regional resource to address a severe shortage of qualified educational personnel who are certified as teachers of students with visual impairments or orientation and mobility specialists. Robert led ICI and UMass in its first regional initiative to address low-incidence disability teacher preparation through distance learning with state, federal, and private collaborations in funding and participation. He was an active participant in designing the national plan for training personnel in visual impairments and provides local and national leadership within the Professional Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired. His professional interests and activities are focused on a passionate belief that representation of low-incidence disabilities issues is one of social justice, and that representation can be obtained by expanded collaboration and shared resources. ICI and Mr. McCulley have been successful in obtaining federal state and private funding for graduate programs in visual impairments graduating over 120 new professionals in 14 different states.
Prior to joining ICI, Mr. McCulley spent 13 years in direct service at the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with a bachelor's of science degree and state education licensure in general science and biology. He completed his graduate work at Boston College in Special Education within Vision Studies: Orientation and Mobility.
