Former WV LEND trainee wins AUCD International Service Award

Mustafa Rfat was acknowledged at the AUCD Awards Ceremony in November 2025.

Friday, December 5, 2025

Former WV Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) trainee Mustafa Rfat, MSW, MPA, received the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) International Service Award at the annual AUCD Awards Ceremony on November 13, 2025.

The AUCD International Service Award is presented to an individual or group inside or outside of the AUCD Network to recognize outstanding contributions that further programs or policies designed to create more inclusive communities for people with disabilities and their families throughout the world.

Mustafa is a current doctoral candidate in social work at Washington University in St. Louis, with concentrations in social determinants of health, disability, and immigration. He earned his MPA in healthcare administration and an MSW with a focus on child mental health from West Virginia University. During his time at WVU, Mustafa was a trainee with the WV LEND program at the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities, which helps prepare students, self-advocates, community members and families to be leaders in disability education, research, advocacy and policy.

“Receiving the AUCD International Service Award is an incredible honor and deeply meaningful to me," said Rfat. "My time as a WV LEND trainee was foundational; it was where I first learned to see disability not only through a clinical or academic lens, but through a justice and equity lens. The mentorship and community I found at WVU CED continue to guide my work today as I advocate for inclusive systems that center the dignity and rights of people with disabilities around the world.”

In addition to his academic and professional merits, Mustafa brings lived experience as both a person with disabilities and a former refugee to his work. Today, Rfat's research examines access to healthcare, education and employment among structurally marginalized communities, including people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees. He uses his experience, advocacy and leadership to uplift marginalized voices with the goal of helping to create more equitable policies and practices.