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Nadia Ibrahim-Taney recognized for university service and scholarly work in cooperative education

CCPS faculty receives prestigious equity and inclusion awards

headshot of Emily Sullivan By Emily Sullivan 513-556-0333
3 minute read April 18, 2024

Throughout her career, Nadia Ibrahim-Taney, assistant professor in the College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies, has contributed to the work of the University through service to underrepresented students, faculty, and staff. Her desire to serve others led to an award-winning year, culminating this month when she received both the Faculty Senate Exemplary Service Award and Marian Spencer Equity Ambassador Award.

Vice President Bleuzette Marshall, UC Office of Equity and Inclusion, with Nadia Ibrahim-Taney at 15th Annual Equity and Inclusion Conference

Vice President Bleuzette Marshall, UC Office of Equity and Inclusion, with Nadia Ibrahim-Taney at 15th Annual Equity and Inclusion Conference. Image/Emily Sullivan

The Faculty Senate Exemplary Service Award recognizes individuals for significant and sustained service contributions to the University during their career. The Marian Spencer Equity Ambassador Award is designed to showcase current campus-affiliated individuals and groups whose efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion have positively impacted the university. “Nadia is so deserving of both prestigious awards. Her generous service and dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion add incredible value to our college and to the University at large,” said Annie Straka, associate dean, College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies.

Most recently, Ibrahim-Taney’s scholarly work has focused on Neurodiversity in the Workplace. When she began working with co-op students majoring in STEM-related fields, she noticed that many struggled to maintain focus, manage time, and adhere to deadlines. They also had difficulties in social settings, working in groups, and communicating with instructors and supervisors. She wanted to know why she was seeing similar challenges among so many of her students.

Through her research, Ibrahim-Taney recognized that many of her students may be living with some form of neurodivergence such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc. She discovered that neurodiverse students often struggle to self-advocate for accommodations. This inspired Ibrahim-Taney to share her research and begin educating college faculty surrounding the conditions of neurodiverse students in higher education.

In February, Professors Ibrahim-Taney and Liz Pawley co-presented their work in supporting neurodiverse student success at the American Society of Engineering Education-Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration, for which they received the Best Session Award. They also co-presented their scholarship on Neurodiversity in the Workplace to a large audience of faculty and staff during the University of Cincinnati’s 15th Annual Equity and Inclusion Conference. Ibrahim-Taney accepted the Marian Spencer Equity Ambassador Award for Faculty during the conference.

Ibrahim-Taney is also the 2023 recipient of the Society for Experiential Education Diversity & Inclusion Scholarship. At the time, she shared that her scholarly work exploring neurodiversity at work included “building the industry business case for intentionally building neurodiverse workforces, best practices for executing robust inclusive hiring tactics, and techniques and industry-driven case studies of successful employers who have built environments where neurodiverse employees thrive.”

Featured image at top of Nadia Ibrahim-Taney at 2024 Faculty Awards. Photo/Joe Fuqua

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