Three Webinars on Access Issues, Finding Community, and Inclusion

We presented an informative AccessADVANCE Webinar Series during the month of April, featuring panel discussions on three current topics of importance to many of our community members! Recordings of these sessions are available online.

Access Issues for Faculty with Disabilities

Conversations around disability in higher education often focus on access for students with disabilities and overlook the experiences of faculty with disabilities. In this webinar, we heard from faculty with disabilities and disability service providers on topics related to accommodations and universal design, funding for accommodations, and strategies to move beyond mere compliance with related laws.

Our panelists:

• Kimberly Thompson, Senior Director of Disability Services at Seattle University
• Mark Coppin, Director of Disability Services at North Dakota State University
• Jason S. Farr, Assistant Professor of English at Marquette University
• Rob Parke, Associate Professor of Information Technology Practice at the University of Southern California

Finding Community And Connection

Despite an abundance of initiatives focused on equity for faculty with disabilities, very few of these programs center, or even consider, the experiences of faculty with disabilities. In this webinar, we heard from faculty with disabilities about ways to find community and connection with other faculty with disabilities through professional organizations, disability cultural centers, and other strategies.

Our panelists:

• Frances Biderman, Director of the D Center at the University of Washington
• Melissa Vossen Callens, Associate Professor, Department of Communications at North Dakota State University
• Michele Cooke, Professor and Associate Department Head for Professional Development, Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Javin D’Souza, graduate student in the College of Education and Graduate Assistant at the University of Illinois-Chicago Disability Culture Center

Disability Inclusion in the Ongoing Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an outsized impact on the disability community. Many people with disabilities are at a high risk for severe COVID and continue to avoid in-person gatherings. Other people have joined the disability community after acquiring long COVID. As organizations and communities return to pre-pandemic norms, what implications does this have for disability inclusion? What can we do to ensure our organizations are welcoming and accessible to people with disabilities?

Our panelists:

• Victoria Chavez, PhD Candidate in Computer Science, Northwestern University
• Emmanuelle Marquis, Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan
• Stephani Page, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Women in Engineering ProActive Network
• Matthew Dowell, Assistant Professor and Director of First Year Writing, Department of English, Towson University

Please share this information with others who may be interested in attending.  Sessions will use automatic captions. To request accommodations, please email blaser@uw.edu.

The goal of AccessADVANCE is to increase the participation and advancement of people with disabilities in academic STEM careers through an intersectional approach. AccessADVANCE serves to increase understanding of the issues this group faces and identify promising practices that systematically address issues impacting the career advancement and success of faculty with disabilities. AccessADVANCE is funded by the National Science Foundation (HRD-2017017 and HRD-2017054) to the University of Washington and North Dakota State University. Learn more about AccessADVANCE, join AccessADVANCE Community of Practice, or apply for an AccessADVANCE Minigrant via the AccessADVANCE website.