The University of Michigan will host a series of workshops, listening sessions and engagement activities for students, faculty and staff throughout October in support of creating a disability-inclusive campus environment.
As part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the Disability Equity Office within U-M’s Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Office will host more than a dozen events, including in-person and virtual workshops, and interactive opportunities to learn about supporting and advancing inclusion and accessibility at U-M.
Participants will be able to share their experiences and concerns directly with members of the ECRT Office, including the Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator.
The series kicks off Oct. 3, with a resource fair from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Weiser Hall. The day also will include a keynote by Liza Sylvestre, a research assistant professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, award-winning transdisciplinary artist and co-founder of the Crip*: Cripistemology and the Arts program.
Additionally, an Oct. 25 interactive workshop, “A Spoon Theory Experience,” will help participants understand how disabled and non-disabled employees manage their energy and address the many competing interests everyone faces in their daily lives.
“It has been a very busy year full of growth and outreach for our office. We are thrilled that this year’s expanded NDEAM kickoff event and resource fair will also feature community resources and university affinity groups, space to try out some common ergonomic equipment, raffles, onsite digital accessibility consultations, and of course our keynote speaker as well,” said Allison Kushner, director of the Disability Equity Office and ADA coordinator.
The Disability Equity Office facilitates the interactive process of identifying reasonable accommodations for faculty and staff with disabilities and their units on the Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses, and provides consultation and training on a wide variety of disability compliance and inclusion topics for the university community.
“We are hoping to capture the momentum of our growing office and our outreach efforts to raise awareness about the resources our office provides to the entire university community, and also highlight the great work our university and community partners are doing to create a more disability-inclusive university environment,” Kushner said.
