September 28, 2020

Diversity Seminar: Examining Disability Identity, Race, and Gender as a Pathway to Inclusive Accessibility

Learning Outcomes: 

  1. Embrace disability identity and how it intersects with other marginalized identities for unapologetic body positivity.
  2. Understand best practices for creating an inclusive and accessible workplace.
  3. Learn about new research at ECU that will provide a more accessible campus through technology.

9:00-10:00AM Keynote: “Sanction Our Scars” 

Keri Gray, Director of Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Communications at the American Association of People with Disabilities 

 

Participants will explore body positivity through the lens of disability as it intersects with race and gender. For the longest, disability imagery has been dominated by its connection to the medical industry and institutions. These images and stories often evoke pity, pain, fear and even brutality. Contrary to those images, this presentation allows audience members to explore body positivity by embracing disability identity through a framework of intersectionality.

 

 

10:10-11:10AM Workshop: “Best Practices for Disability Inclusion” 

Keri Gray 

 

This session will explore how people with disabilities can be incorporated in corporate/organizational D&I strategies, programs, and initiatives. The facilitator will also discuss best practices designed to successfully hire, onboard, and retain personnel while cultivating appropriate workplace etiquette that will build inclusive environments. Finally, this session will provide guidance to managers regarding reasonable workplace accommodations and implementing a company culture that is inclusive of people with disabilities.

 

 

11:15AM-NOON Workshop: “Participatory Mapping for Campus Accessibility with Dignity”

Yoo Min Park, Ph.D. Assistant Professor; Department of Geography, Planning, and Environment at ECU

Joonkoo (J.K.) Yun, Ph.D. Professor and Chair; Department of Kinesiology at ECU 

 

Drs. Park and Yun will share their research about improving the quality of accessibility and creating a learning environment in which people with disabilities feel truly welcomed and included. In this project, they will (a) create a web-based, user-friendly campus indoor map that shows the locations of accessible entrances and bathrooms and (b) engage both students with and without disabilities in participatory accessibility mapping to critically assess the quality of accessibility on campus from the user perspectives. They expect that this project will provide valuable information to create a campus that values diversity and inclusion and lead to constructive conversations about the broader meaning of accessibility.

 

Sponsored by the Office for Equity and Diversity. For questions, contact oed@ecu.edu or 252-328-6804.