UAlbany Professor Lauded for Excellence in Education Research

A man wearing a green quarter-zip sweater smiles for a portrait in a warmly lit hall.
Paul Morgan, Director of the Institute for Social and Health Equity and Empire Innovation Professor at the College of Integrated Health Sciences. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 26, 2026) — University at Albany’s Paul Morgan, Director of the Institute for Social and Health Equity and Empire Innovation Professor and Social and Health Equity Endowed Professor at the College of Integrated Health Sciences, received the 2026 Special Education Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) — the largest international professional organization dedicated to high-quality education that is inclusive and equitable for individuals with disabilities. 

The award recognizes a CEC member whose research has had a direct impact on practice, programs or policy needs and has improved positive outcomes for children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. 

“I am deeply honored to receive the Special Education Researcher Award and sincerely thank the Council for Exceptional Children for this recognition, as well as the researchers who nominated me for the award,” said Morgan. “I am grateful for their and CEC’s enduring commitment to advancing rigorous research, use of best practices and meaningful outcomes for students with disabilities.”

Morgan studies how health and education systems can more effectively identify and support students with, or at risk for, disabilities. Among other articles in press, Morgan’s latest work has included:

  • A study published in Learning and Individual Differences, which examined racial and ethnic differences in the risks for mathematics and science difficulties and factors that explained these risks. 
  • A study published in Educational Researcher, which analyzed disparities in disability identification along racial and ethnic lines among U.S. elementary school students. 
  • A project supported by the U.S. Department of Education that is investigating disparities in special education across the U.S., with a focus on the extent to which systemic bias in disability identification contributes to these disparities.

“At a time when special education policy is under unprecedented critical review, Morgan’s emergence as a leading scholar who provides scientific clarity about identification could not be timelier,” said Michael M. Gerber, emeritus professor of education at the University of California, Santa Barbara who nominated Morgan for the award. 

Morgan’s research has had a profound impact on practices, programs and policies in special education, improving education outcomes for children and youth with disabilities, particularly those from historically marginalized populations. His work has been cited by the World Bank, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the U.S. Department of Education, the Urban Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in multiple state policy initiatives. 

“His research program not only advances scholarly knowledge but also meaningfully influences how schools identify and support students with disabilities,” said Daniel P. Hallahan, professor emeritus of education at the University of Virginia and another of Morgan’s nominators. “Through rigorous science, powerful dissemination and sustained policy engagement, Dr. Morgan has had a direct and demonstrable impact on practice, programs and policies, resulting in improved outcomes for some of our most vulnerable children and youth.” 

Morgan was recognized for this achievement earlier this month, along with other Council for Exceptional Children Professional Award recipients, at the Council for Exceptional Children Convention held in Salt Lake City, Utah.