Gary Siperstein is founder and director of the Center for Social Development and Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. A professor at UMass Boston since 1974, Siperstein received his PhD at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University. He has published more than seventy-five articles, chapters, and books on the social relationships and social development of children with disabilities. His most recent book, Promoting Social Success, focuses on improving the social competence of children in the classroom. He has served as associate editor of the American Journal of Mental Retardation and editor of the Research Monograph Series of the American Association on Mental Retardation. The recipient of more than twenty research grants from federal agencies, including NICHD (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) and the U.S. Department of Education, Siperstein received the prestigious Merit Award from NICHD for his work on the social aspects of mental retardation. Enhancing the social competence of children with mental retardation in inclusive educational settings has been the focus of his most recent projects. Presently, he serves on the State Advisory Council for the Department of Mental Retardation (DMR), the National Academy of Sciences Committee on "Eligibility Determination of Mental Retardation," and is past president of the Research Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Under Siperstein's direction, CSDE also works collaboratively with Special Olympics Inc. as a Global Collaborating Center (GCC). The purpose of the GCC is to conduct rigorous scientific research that is of value to the international community. The UMass Boston/Special Olympics Global Collaborating Center is solely responsible for all international research related to attitudes and intellectual disabilities.