The Council for Disability Concerns was formed in 1983 to improve accessibility, develop scholarships for students with disabilities and to provide communication among units involved with disability issues.
It has now issued a report on its progress in those areas that details its continuing efforts to make the Uni-versity a place where all students and employees have an equal opportunity to learn and work.
Membership in the council has grown from about 12 in 1983 to 44 members, each serving on one of three task forces dealing with specific issues—accessibilty, education and employment.
Over the past 10 years, the report notes that accessibility to University buildings has improved, and one of the major steps in helping persons with disabilities has been the publication of a handbook and map that designate entrances, elevators, restrooms, parking spaces and curb cuts. Commencement exercises at Michigan Stadium are now accessible to those with physical limitations.
The Education Task Force has compiled a handbook of University and community resources for students, helped change the policy on financial aid for part-time students with disabilities, recommended increased funding and support for students with learning disabilities, and increased access to library materials.
The Employment Task Force, formed in 1988, has worked to establish definitions of reasonable accommodations that might need to be made for employees, arranged special orientation sessions about health insurance benefits, and played a key role in University efforts to implement the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Council also is responsible for Freedom on the River, a rowing program for people with mobility impairments, that has expanded to include persons with disabilities from the surrounding community.
“The Council is proud of its record of achievement during our first decade,” members note in the report. “We are confident that the next 10 years will bring additional progress for people with disabilities.”
Copies of the report are available from the Affirmative Action Office, 6040 Fleming Administration Building, 763-0235.
