Initial Proposal and Working Group to Establish a President’s Commission on People with Disabilities

In the Spring and Summer of 2013, the Working Group to Establish a President’s Commission on People with Disabilities met several times to construct a formal proposal to President David Dooley and the new Chief Diversity Office, Associate VP Naomi Thompson.   The group was largely made up of allies and colleagues who had previously served on the Advisory Committee on Disability Issues.  The formal proposal  is attached here, it was accepted, the Commission members were recruited by a university-wide message, and the Commission began meeting in September 2013.

Initial Proposal to Establish the President’s Commission on People with Disabilities, 2013

Commission Activities:

• The PCPD conducts meetings from September to May.
• Goals prepared by the PCPD Working Committee served as the starting point for prioritizing issues of concern.
• Specific University Manual language describing the purpose, mission and goals was designed by the members.  The document, formatted to be consistent with language of other Presidential Commissions was forwarded to the Office of Community, Equity, and Diversity for inclusion in the University Manual.   The University Manual is being edited at this writing.
• Two task forces address the goals of the Commission:
  • Task Force I: Increase awareness on campus of issues affecting people with disabilities; celebrate contributions of people with disabilities.
  • Task Force II: Identify and suggest recommendations for addressing curriculum and campus access issues affecting people with disabilities.