WKU News

Pictured from left to right, Peyton Collins, Dr. Bernard Strenecky, Dr. Ron Steiner, Dr. Christina Noel, Dr. Kim Link, Alexander Bentley, Caroline Hudson

Western Kentucky University’s Suzanne Vitale Clinical Education Complex (CEC) recently launched a multi-phase international partnership with the NIA Neurodiversity Academy Association in Romania to support the development of Campus Lumya, the country’s first integrated center dedicated to autistic teenagers and adults.

NIA Neurodiversity Academy Association is a non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting teenagers and adults with autism through integrated programs of therapy, education, and social inclusion. 

Campus Lumya, currently under construction near Bucharest, aims to become a replicable model of integrated, evidence-based services. The center will provide medical, therapeutic, residential, educational, and vocational programming for more than 400 individuals each month. WKU’s role is to provide training, consultation, and program design rooted in its long-standing expertise in autism services. This partnership would not have been possible without our community connectors and NIA leadership partners. We want to extend a special thank you to Dr. Bernard Strenecky and Dr. Ron Steiner.

“We are excited to have such a diverse and deeply committed representation,” the Romanian team shared. “This level of engagement reflects the national interest in advancing supports for autistic teenagers and adults, while amplifying the visibility and impact of our joint initiative.”

Participants have been organized into six multidisciplinary groups designed to foster collaboration, cross-learning, and shared problem-solving, an approach modeled after WKU’s own interprofessional programs.

Through the CEC and the Kelly Autism Program, WKU brings decades of experience in evidence-based practices, interdisciplinary collaboration, community partnership, and programs that support autistic individuals across the lifespan. This includes academic and mental health services, vocational development, transition programs, and self-advocacy leadership.

The training initiative is led by a multidisciplinary WKU team whose combined expertise spans clinical services, mental health, speech-language pathology, rural health, interprofessional education, and self-advocacy:

• Dr. Christina Noel, Interim Director of the Suzanne Vitale Clinical Education Complex, Professor of Special Education, and leader of WKU’s Neurodiverse Learners Network and Camp Collab.
• Dr. Corinne M. Murphy, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Dean of the College of Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Special Education.
• Peyton Collins, Director of Mental Health Services for the Kelly Autism Program, specializing in evidence-based mental health supports for autistic individuals and their families.
• Caroline Hudson, SLP-CCC, Director of the Kelly Autism Program and leader in developing innovative academic, vocational, and social programs across the lifespan.
• Dr. Kim Link, DNP, PMHNP-BC, Co-Director of WKU’s Institute for Rural Health and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner with extensive experience in community mental health and rural healthcare systems.
• Alexander Bentley, WKU student, self-advocate, and peer coordinator whose lived experience shapes trainings and program design.

Their combined leadership reflects WKU’s commitment to empowering autistic individuals and building sustainable, evidence-based service models both locally and globally.

For more information about the CEC and the Kelly Autism Program, visit wku.edu/wkucec.