RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia Commonwealth University's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, part of the School of Education, has received two awards totaling $8.8 million to support research on employment for people with disabilities. The awards, amounting to $4.4 million each, were awarded from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the university. The university said its Rehabilitation Research and Training Center was established in 1983 and provides resources for professionals, people with disabilities and their families. The center will reportedly collaborate with researchers at Michigan State University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Vanderbilt University, the University of Kansas and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.