OSU researchers earn 2025 Public Impact Research Award for work on disability inclusion

OSU researchers earn 2025 Public Impact Research Award for work on disability inclusion

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Media Contact: Sydney Trainor | OSU Brand Management | 405-744-9782 | [email protected]

Through more than a decade of community-engaged research, two Oklahoma State University faculty members have reshaped how Oklahoma understands and supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

For their sustained impact, Drs. Kami Gallus and Jennifer Jones, in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, received the 2025 OSU Public Impact Research Award at the University Awards Convocation.

Gallus, who joined OSU in 2007, said the award reflects the heart of her career.

"The name of the award - Public Impact - feels like validation that I didn't just do research to promote myself as a faculty member," she said. "I did research that has made a real difference in the lives of people I'm most passionate about."

Gallus emphasized that the work has always been a partnership.

"I don't think I could have done this work alone, and I think Jennifer would say the same," Gallus said. "We jokingly call each other our work wives, but we share the same purpose and desire to have a meaningful impact on people's lives."

Central to their impact is OSU's 13-year partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services through the Oklahoma National Core Indicators-Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities program. Each year, their team interviews more than 400 Oklahomans receiving state services, documenting needs in areas such as employment, community access, social connection and mental health.

The data pointed to widespread social isolation.

"Our community members kept telling us they wanted more opportunities to meet people and have friendships - and that they needed more exercise," Gallus said.

Those findings sparked Let's Take a Walk!, a 10-week walking program pairing OSU undergraduates with adults with IDD. The results were immediate.

"At the beginning, participants were showing clinical levels of depression and anxiety," Gallus said. "Ten weeks later, we saw clinically significant decreases. I couldn't get that much change in therapy in 10 weeks - and yet it was so simple. It wasn't rocket science."

Jones said the program also transformed OSU's campus culture.

"Let's Take a Walk was the precursor to OSU Unified," she said. "Now, every Thursday night, adults with intellectual disabilities are on our campus competing alongside OSU students in intramurals. Seeing that every week - that's a real impact in real life."

The pair made an early commitment to sustainability.

"We decided we would never again have a research project or program we couldn't financially sustain," Jones said. "If we introduced something to the community, we wanted to be sure it would last."

Gallus and Jones' research extends deeply into student development, a core reason for their recognition.

"Universities historically haven't been inclusive when it comes to intellectual and developmental disabilities," Gallus said. "But if you graduate from OSU, you should understand the full range of people you'll work with in the real world."

In 2020,The Center for Developmental Disabilities was established and serves as an umbrella for all research and related programs.

Through research projects, OSU Unifiedand Opportunity Orange Scholars, more than 200 students each year gain hands-on experience.

Jones said the most profound shift is in how students perceive others as more than their disability.

"The hierarchy changes," she said. "They go from saying, 'I worked with a student with Down syndrome in high school,' to 'I learned so much from Gretchen,' or another [Opportunity Orange Scholars] student. They begin to see true reciprocity."

Jones encourages her students to lean into discomfort.

"I tell them, I'm not going to ask you to change your opinions, but I am going to ask you to challenge them," she said. "Most people don't realize how pity or condescension can become barriers for individuals with disabilities."

Their work aligns with OSU's land-grant mission and One Health priorities by strengthening community well-being and equitable access to social, educational and health resources.

Looking ahead, both scholars see a rising need for research on aging and caregiving.

"We're seeing more adults with [intellectual and developmental disabilities] living into later adulthood, and many are cared for by aging parents," Jones said. "Our service system is not built for that. We have to address aging and disability together."

Gallus echoed the focus on families.

"We're thinking about generational support - how to help siblings and caregivers when parents can no longer fill that role," she said.

As recipients of OSU's Public Impact Research Award, Gallus and Jones will also serve as the university's nominees for the national Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Public Impact Research Award.

For Gallus, the recognition affirms a career-long mission.

"To step back and see real lives impacted - people who may never have been invited onto this campus - that's powerful," she said. "I can't think of an award I'd rather have."

Story By: Summer Wilson | [email protected]