[MUSIC PLAYING]
SHERYL BURGSTAHLER:
How welcoming
is your department to faculty
members who have disabilities?
Hello, I'm Sheryl
Burgstahler, the Director
of the DO-IT Center and
the AccessADVANCE project.
Today I'll share
some tips for making
STEM departments more inclusive
of faculty with disabilities.
Application pools
for faculty positions
have become
increasingly diverse,
yet some applicants
and employees
with disabilities
encounter challenges
that occur during the
employment application process
and after they're hired.
Barriers include those related
to facilities, meetings,
courses, digital documents,
services, and online resources.
Imagine a person who's blind
discovering that they cannot
access digital job application
forms with a screen reader.
Imagine a professor who cannot
hear when microphones are not
used during a large meeting.
Imagine an instructor with
health-related disabilities
who fears that
requesting accommodation
may affect their chances
for earning tenure.
Campus leaders should adjust
institutional and departmental
policies and procedures
to ensure that they
reflect an inclusive culture.
Answering the
following questions
can help you get started--
is the physical environment
accessible, comfortable,
and safe for individuals
with a range of abilities?
Are support staff prepared
to work with faculty
who have disabilities?
Do flexible policies allow
individuals to attend
meetings and work remotely?
Is it clear to
faculty how to request
disability-related
accommodations?
And is there guidance in
choosing assistive technology?
Are accommodations
provided and funded
through a central
institutional unit,
thus avoiding the appearance
that individual faculty
members with disabilities
are a financial burden
to the department?
Are disability-related
issues addressed
in all campus and departmental
diversity, equity,
and inclusion initiatives?
Taking steps in response
to questions like these
can also benefit faculty who
do not disclose disabilities.
Find additional considerations
in our publication
Equal Access: Making STEM
Departments More Accessible to
and Inclusive of Faculty
with Disabilities.
It's at
uw.edu/doit/programs/advance.
Remember that disability is
simply one aspect of diversity.
Increasing the
participation of people
with disabilities
among STEM faculty
strengthens these fields with
their unique perspectives
and expertise.