Working Groups Reports: Disability Issues

Please Note: These reports were produced by working group teams participating in the MizzouDiversity Summit. There may be errors in some of the data provided and the viewpoints presented reflect the beliefs and opinions of the working group teams but do not necessarily represent the official positions of the Chancellor's Diversity Initiative or the University of Missouri.

Disability Issues Panel

Val Bader
Clinical Instructor, Sinclair School of Nursing
Matt Buckley
Student Services Coordinator, Office of Disability Services
Anthony Connolly
English doctoral student
Dr. Phil Deming
Interim Director of The Learning Center
Gretchen Gregory
Clinical Instructor, Sinclair School of Nursing
Lee Henson
ADA Coordinator, attorney
Catherine O'Brien
Graduate Research Assistant, Middle Level Leadership Center. Assisted by her service animal, Maggie

Some Positives

Good wheelchair accessibility
Many resources
Improved services for students

Problem areas

Cultural competence regarding disability issues
No centralized funding for job accommodations
Parking and transportation
No representation at policy level
Lack of communication accessibility for persons who are deaf or blind
Significant under representation on faculty and staff

Faculty and Staff self-identifying as disabled

Less than 1 percent
Congress found that about 1 in 6 Americans has a disability

Faculty and staff is not diverse

Disability Issues - Recommendations

Expand education and awareness resources
Improve policies – e.g. centralized funding
Improve hiring and promotion practices
Fund a campus organization, and location for people with disabilities
Expand and fund resources for students
Improve parking and transportation
Improve communications accessibility

The Keys

Education
Inclusion
Full Participation