Bruce L. Keisling, PhD, executive director for Developmental Disabilities at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, has been named a 2021 Fellow of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). He will be recognized during the organization’s 145th Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, Florida, in June. Dr. Keisling also holds the Shainberg Professorship in Developmental Pediatrics for UTHSC Center for Developmental Disabilities.
The AAIDD is the oldest professional association concerned with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization advocates for the equality, dignity, and human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and for their full inclusion and participation in society.
Members can be nominated for Fellowship distinction after they have had at least seven years of continuous membership in AAIDD, participation in its professional and business affairs, and are judged to have made a meritorious contribution to the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dr. Keisling has been a member for eight years.
“It’s an honor to be elected by my colleagues in the disability field with this national appellation,” he said.
He has served as an editorial board member for the association’s journal, Inclusion, a regional liaison for the state of Tennessee, and a reviewer for the AAIDD journal, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He has also given six presentations at the organization’s annual conferences.
“The College of Medicine is proud to have Dr. Bruce Keisling among its ranks,” said Scott Strome, MD, Robert Kaplan Executive Dean and vice chancellor for Clinical Affairs for the UTHSC College of Medicine. “This prestigious honor is not only reflective of his dedication to the disability field, but it also serves as a testament of the university’s ongoing commitments to education and public service.”