Year in and year out, 秘色视频鈥檚 special education graduate program ranks as one of the best in the nation.
![June and Mike Behrmann](/sites/g/files/yyqcgq291/files/styles/small_content_image/public/2024-07/behrmanns.jpg?itok=VRQ2xk8B)
In the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of , 秘色视频鈥檚 special education program ranked eighth in the country. In 2023, the special education graduate program ranked 17th in the country among public institutions and 19th overall.
, the Division Director, points to one man for laying the foundation for a program that consistently produces quality teachers鈥.
鈥淗e is kind of a legend here,鈥 Baker said. 鈥淗e built the special education program.鈥
Seven years after retiring from a nearly 40-year career in the special education program that included serving as division director prior to Baker's tenure in that role, Behrmann, now professor emeritus of special education, continues to add to his legacy.
Behrmann, along with his wife, June, has generously created an undergraduate scholarship for 秘色视频 students in the special education program. The undergraduate special education program, which along with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in elementary education and early childhood education for diverse learners, aims to tighten the nationwide teacher shortage gap.
Students who plan to teach may focus their program on a specific area in the by adding a licensure concentration鈥擪-12 adaptive curriculum, K-12 general curriculum licensure or PK-12 blindness and visual impairments licensure鈥攐r pursue a nonlicensure concentration.
鈥淐hildren with special needs are our most vulnerable students. We need more teachers working with this population of students,鈥 Behrmann said. 鈥淯ndergraduate programs are one way that can be really addressed and start to bite into that shortage of qualified teachers.鈥
Behrmann arrived at 秘色视频 in 1979 as the coordinator of the special education graduate program, which had just three faculty members and a small handful of graduate students.
Over the next four decades, the program grew as Behrmann secured more than $90 million in external grants and contracts, $30 million in revenue-based projects, and $4.5 million in gifts for special education to the university. In the mid 1980s, he also designed and implemented a master鈥檚 and a doctoral program in assistive/special education technology.
The special education program now enrolls more than 1,000 students annually and employs more than 150, which includes faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and student workers.
鈥淚 consider the faculty who are at 秘色视频 now as my legacy,鈥 Behrmann said. 鈥淢aster鈥檚 and doctoral students who are now faculty members. They are such great researchers and trainers. Pam and that whole crew of special educators are just tremendous.鈥
Behrmann wants the scholarship to support special education undergraduate students who are working with the Program, a four-year postsecondary comprehensive transition program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who desire a university experience in a supportive academic environment.
When Behrmann founded the Mason LIFE program in 2005, his vision was twofold. He wanted to provide an educational, on-campus experience for students with disabilities. But he also wanted to offer Mason graduate and doctoral students鈥攁nd now undergraduate students鈥攚orking in the Mason LIFE program an opportunity to attain hands-on special education experience while also pursuing their degree.
The Mason LIFE program, currently led by director Linn Jorgenson, enrolls around 50 students every year, with 18 freshmen admitted for the 2024-25 school year.
鈥淎t the time, it was one of only one or two programs in the whole United States,鈥 Behrmann said. 鈥淭hey have spun off, with federal support, and are much more common across the country. Seeing that program continue to be supported, within the diversity of the university, really makes me proud. All the university presidents from Alan Merten to current president Gregory Washington have been great supporters of the Mason LIFE Program.鈥
鈥淚t is a program that affirms our mission,鈥 Baker said. 鈥淲e are here to make a positive impact on the lives of people who have disabilities. These young adults are integrated into the fabric of the university. They come back as alumni. Our Mason LIFE students have been in the Green Machine band. They have been cheerleaders. They are all over the campus. Mike had the vision.鈥
The Behrmanns met when they were both teaching in Cincinnati. June then spent more than 20 years as a writer specializing in special education issues before returning to the classroom as a special education teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools. Now they want to help ensure that 秘色视频鈥檚 undergraduate program shapes the next generation of special education teachers.
鈥淚f we can give this [undergraduate] program the kind of marketing it needs, support more students, it has real potential to grow into a large scholarship program,鈥 Behrmann said. 鈥淭he special education program is one of the strongest programs in the university, and I鈥檓 excited to see it continue to grow.鈥
The Behrmanns encourage graduates of the special education programs and certificate programs to get involved personally and give back to the scholarship fund. To make a gift, .
鈥淗e is kind of a legend here,鈥 Baker said. 鈥淗e built the special education program.鈥