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Enhancing Campus Access. Through Strategic Collaborations. Agenda. What is outreach? Conceptual models of disability. Shifting our perceptions of disability. Examples of Collaboration and Capacity Building Strategies. What is Outreach?. To be more or greater than; exceed.
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Enhancing Campus Access Through Strategic Collaborations
Agenda • What is outreach? • Conceptual models of disability. • Shifting our perceptions of disability. • Examples of Collaboration and Capacity Building Strategies.
What is Outreach? • To be more or greater than; exceed. • The act or process of reaching out. • A systematic attempt to provide services beyond conventional limits, as to particular segments of a community. • Any systematic effort to provide unsolicited and predefined help to groups or individuals deemed to need it…seeking out appropriate people and persuading them to accept what is judged good for them.
Model Comparison of Disability • Carol J. Gill, Chicago Institute of Disability Research * Disability is a social construct
Disability is a Social Construct • Disability should be included in all diversity endeavors. • Disability should not be separate but equal. • For real transformative change to occur people must be able to understand the value, what it means to them, and start where they are.
Disability Data • Approximately one in five Americans has a disability. • One in ten has a severe disability. • People with disabilities is an emerging market and an increasingly powerful demographic. Globally, this market represents $3 trillion of disposable income. • Research shows that 87 percent of Americans surveyed prefer to patronize businesses that hire those with disabilities.
Disability Data As our baby boomers age, as our disabled veterans return home, and as medical advancements continue to extend life, the number of those with disabilities will continue to grow. The disability community is the largest HEG that anyone can become a member of at anytime….it is also the fastest growing community on college campuses around the United States. (Vogel, Summer 2011, Insight into Diversity)
Disability Data • How might this data impact recruitment and retention of students?....faculty/staff? • How does it intersect academic disciplines? • All of our programs and services must be accessible and usable to everyone (students, parents, guests, etc.). However, how you provide equal access is not necessarily defined.
Disability Studies • Disability Studies refers generally to the examination of disability as a social, cultural, and political phenomenon…Disability is a construct that finds its meaning within a social and cultural context.
Paradigm Shift • Disability is not an individual problem that needs to be fixed or cured…Disability is a natural part of life and should be a valued identity group. • Disability is a social construct. • We need to change how we think….I think we focus too much on the students.
Transformative Change Examples: • Accommodation vs. Inclusion • Architecture compliance vs. inclusion • Help them wonder?...and who else would benefit?
Look for Intersections • University mission. • University strategic plan. • Valued projects. • Faculty and student concerns. • Know the campus culture.
Reward • Help them wonder and give them the credit. • Document good work and do it in front of dept. head, dean, V.P., etc. • Report good work in important meetings. • University “Academic Spotlights”. • Publish.
Example 1: Pedagogy • Identify well respected faculty (who may have made mistakes). • Help them wonder. • Provide resources. • Invite to workshops. • Invite to co-present their transformations. • Developed videos use them as mentors. • Faculty leading faculty.
Example 2: Awareness A Cultural Lens Faculty Development
Faculty and Administrators: Do you know…. • What is it like to live with a disability? • How does our society perceive disability? • How much do you know about disability culture and history? • How does disability intersect your field of study? ……Do your students know about these issues?
Book Club • “Disability: the social, political, and ethical debate” • Edited by: Baird, Rosenbaum & Toombs • Selected authors: Carol J. Gill, Paul Longmore, Harriet McBryde Johnson, etc.
Faculty Presentation “The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability”, by Nancy Eiesland
The Value of Disability Studies Dr. Susan Burch, Associate Professor of American Studies; Director, Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity – Middlebury College • The Value of Disability Studies • How to incorporate disability studies in your teaching • “Unspeakable: The Story of Junius Wilson”
Disability Studies Minor • Committee of Interdisciplinary faculty. • College of Humanities and Public Affairs. • Introductory Course will be an option for general education requirements. • Spring 2013?
Example 3: Architecture • Student driven project. • Student Government Association very powerful! • DRC and student partnership. • The field trip.
Reward Staeger-Wilson, K., & Sampson, D. (2012). Infusing JUST design in campus recreation. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 25(3), 247-252. Staeger-Wilson, K., Barnett, C., & Sampson, D. (2012). Planning for an inclusive campus recreation facility and program. Recreational Sports Journal, 2012, 36(1), 37-44. • Award Winning Design!
Disability Resource Center Moved from Student Affairs to the Division for Diversity and Inclusion • Allies • Support
Example 4: The Disability Experience • Recording our history and examining our growth.
Oral History Project/DRC Archive • Researched the campus paper for stories about disability. • Interviewed past DRC directors. • Interviewed past students. • Recorded oral histories and created an archive to be maintained in the library. • Plan to publish.
Example 5: Marketing • DRC as Consultant. • No fear. • Proactive and Inclusive work. • Focus on what they value.
Marketing Disability Resources “I highly recommend inviting the Disability Resource Center to assist with planning any project or event. They can contribute a wealth of information and ideas. They played a large part to ensure the Foster Recreation Center is inclusive/usable to all patrons.” — Cindi Barnett, director of Campus Recreation
Marketing Disability Resources “I didn’t know (universal design) existed, but I was interested in creating courses where students didn’t need special accommodations. … I wanted to make a course in such a way that no students needed accommodation, that all of them could learn… Universal design — this idea I have that all students have the same access to learning — actually improved everything about my classes.” Dr. Marc Cooper, history professor
Outreach Off Campus • Share resources and speakers • Affordable/Inclusive Housing
Progress • In order for real progress to occur people must perceive disability differently, see disability as a valued part of our diversity, and understand the issues of privilege. • Understand that disability is a social construct.
Collaboration and Capacity-Building Strategies • Learn from our mistakes and educate. • Where is disability not included? • Use a social justice approach. • Identify key people who are well respected. • Wonder with them…how could this be inclusive? • Consult with them so they can lead. • Reward and recognize.
