Meghan Burke, professor of Special Education, with son Rogan Meyer at the Illini Union. Photo by Robin Scholz / The News-Gazette.

She’s the pioneer behind the Volunteer Advocacy Project, a nationally-renowned program that trains individuals to become special education advocates for other families of children with disabilities.

She’s also the brains behind Access Urbana-Champaign, a class project-turned-unique website that rates 117 local restaurants on how accessible they are to customers with special needs.

For those two initiatives—and others still to come—Meghan Burke received two of the UI’s highest honors during the 2020-21 school year.

During the campus’ virtual Celebration of Diversity, Burke was presented with one of five Larine Y. Cowan Make a Difference Awards, for her “efforts to expand and improve the utilization of programs and structures by persons with disabilities.”

A few days later, she was named one of the campus’ five University Scholars, a program that recognizes excellence in teaching, scholarship and service and rewards recipients with $15,000 for each of the next three years to enhance their academic careers.

A professor of special education who joined the UI faculty in 2014, two years after earning her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt, Burke took us on a guided, virtual tour of some of her favorite spots on and around campus.

Read more at the News-Gazette website...