Disability Awareness, Training, and Empowerment: A New Paradigm for Raising Disability Awareness on a University Campus for Faculty, Staff, and Students

A select committee of faculty, staff, administrators and students collaborated to create and implement the Disability Awareness, Training, and Empowerment (DATE) program on the campus of a midsize public state institution in the Northeastern United States. Based on studies of existing literature in the field, as well as campus climate information, the committee created a unique training program that has, to date, seen the training of over 350 faculty members, staff and administrators. This article will explore the literature that was surveyed to form the philosophical underpinnings of the program. The starting place for the training was No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement (Shapiro, 1993), as well as the research of Cole and Cawthon (2015), Hehir and Schifter (2015), and Oliver (1990). After surveying this supporting literature, the article will then explore the evolution and facilitation of the training program, including the various iterations of the training as it took its final form. The article will conclude with an exploration of possible new directions for disability awareness training programs on university campuses. The discussion also includes an expansion to the student body and a corresponding fulfillment of the university’s civic engagement course requirements.

The provision made by higher education library services for people with disabilities

This article examines the results of a Masters research project which examined the provision provided by Higher Education (HE) library services for students with disabilities within the context of the new disability legislation,The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA), which came into force on 1st September 2002. Five HE libraries were selected as case studies and this included interviews with staff, an accessibility audit of services and facilities and a questionnaire targeted at students with disabilities. Library provision was assessed in light of library policies, procedures and practices. On the positive side, all libraries had a disability representative and many staff attended disability awareness training. However, accessibility of the built environment was often inadequate for the needs of people with disabilities. Lighting was poor, shelving was of inappropriate width and height and signage was far from ideal. Recommendations to improve provision included: compilation of formal written disability policies; compulsory disability awareness training and proactive promotion of available facilities.