[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.