Anjali Forber-Pratt, Ph.D. '12 EPOL, has been named the head of the Department of Disability and Human Development in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Forber-Pratt comes to UIC with 20 years of high-level experience in research, sport and organizational leadership. She previously served as the presidentially appointed director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, and she has held academic appointments at Vanderbilt University and the University of Kansas.
In 2023, Forber-Pratt was named the College of Education’s Emerging Leader Alumni Award.
Forber-Pratt was a member of Team USA at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games, where she medaled and became an American record holder in wheelchair racing.
The author of more than 65 peer-reviewed articles and numerous chapters, she focuses her research primarily on disability identity development. And as a wheelchair-user herself for more than 40 years, her lived experience informs her work.
