Disability Studies and Action Collaborative

Disability Culture, Scholarship, and Community

Category: Disability Studies Institute

Thank you to everyone who participated in WWU GiveDay!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Institute for Critical Disability Studies’ very first WWU Give Day!  Stay tuned as we will be hosting our next UnConference in the Fall and also launching a new ICDS Fellows Program.

If you missed it, you can still give at https://alumniq.wwu.edu/giving/to/GiveDay2022 by selecting “Other” category and searching for Institute for Critical Disability Studies.

Support Critical Disability Studies this WWU Give Day

WWU Give Day is coming up!  This is the new Institute for Critical Disability Studies’ (ICDS’) very first public fundraising opportunity as of our Spring 2022 launch and official institute status!  We could not have made it this far without your collective contributions in organization and planning, feedback, and encouragement: THANK YOU!
 
Are you imagining all the awesome things the Institute could be doing in the coming years, such as putting on our next UnConference, funding new DISA course development, hiring staff, scheduling workshops, bringing in speakers, and funding student internships and scholarships?
 
Help ICDS grow our resources to confidently support students, faculty, and staff.  Encourage your connections to give, and give as you are able: even the smallest donations will make a difference!
 
  • How you can help ICDS fundraise for Give Day:
    • Become a Give Day Ambassador – sign up now to help recruit donors and share on social media in advance of Give Day with the tags #WWUGiveDay and #WWUICDS.
    • Spread the word by sharing our Give Day page with friends, family, and potential donors, and let them know why Critical Disability Studies, accessibility, and the DSAC community matter to you!
    • Give early!  Early Give Day is Wednesday May 18th for only 24 hours: Get a head start on giving and build momentum for the Institute.
    • Give on Give Day!  Give Day is Thursday May 26th.
 
Help give this little ICDS seedling a strong start this spring!
A tiny green seedling with two green leaflets sprouts from soil. The seedling represents the new Institute which has just officially sprouted this Spring.

Image of a green seedling sprouting from the soil
“Seedling” by _sjg_ is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

 

Interim co-directors announced for Spring & Summer 2022

Winter Quarter 2022

Andrew Lucchesi and GIM (G McGrew) will be working as the interim co-directors of the Institute for Spring and Summer 2022.  GIM and Andrew will be helping establish the institute’s first priorities, including hosting events, establishing a new scholarship program, and creating connections between faculty and students around disability studies work.

You are invited to reach out to them:

  • Andrew Lucchesi (he/him)
    • lucchea@wwu.edu
  • GIM (he/they)
    • mcgrewg2@wwu.edu

Permanent co-directors will begin their roles in Fall of 2022.

New Institute for Critical Disability Studies Approved by Provost

March 21, 2022

It’s happening!

After submitting a full proposal for the institute at the beginning of Summer 2021 and lengthy negotiation with the Provost’s office, the Disability Studies and Action Collaborative is pleased to announce that the Provost’s office has agreed to establish our new Institute for Critical Disability Studies for Spring 2022 and Fall 2022.

Our next stages in the institute formation include selection of interim co-directors for the institute to work with the Interim Advisory Council and the DS Steering Committee during Spring and Summer 2022; working on institute bylaws including organization and committee structures; and to hold a formal search process for two co-director roles to start in Fall 2022.

We are looking forward to building community alongside these administrative elements by continuing to hold events, from student-centered engagements to faculty-facing professional development opportunities.

Thank you for joining us as we continue this exciting journey!

 

2021 Listening Sessions – Disability Studies Institute Formation

Disability Studies Institute at Western: Listening Sessions

From February 23 to March 4th, the Disability Studies Steering Committee is holding virtual “listening sessions” with Western Community Members. These sessions are sponsored by students, faculty, and staff working on issues related to disability and access at Western, and now we are currently forming an Institute on Disability Studies.

Read more on our process here: https://wp.wwu.edu/disabilitycollaborative/proposing-the-disability-studies-institute/

 

Topics for discussion will include:

  • Establishing a new cross-department institute in Disability Studies
    • Feedback on the pre-proposal document that was approved by the Provost’s Office
    • Mission and focus of an institute
    • Leadership structure
  • Additional topics for discussion can also include:
    • Building a new interdisciplinary minor in Disability Studies
    • Creating new courses across the majors that address issues of disability culture, access, and ableism
    • Addressing issues of ableism and unfair treatment of students and faculty with disabilities
    • Building networks between Western and the surrounding community on issues of disability

 

We are holding listening sessions for both students and faculty at these:

 

If you cannot make these listening sessions, or if you would like to also provide feedback in another way, you are invited to respond to this survey, which will be open during the months of February and March 2021:
https://wwu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_09xQCMZl8PNK50O?Source=wppost

 

Image gives the impression of a colorful board game path made steps in how the Disability Studies Institute is forming. We started with discussions and brainstorming years ago, followed by the Disability Studies and Action Collaborative organizing an UnConference in Fall of 2019. Shortly thereafter, the Disability Studies Steering Committee was formed, and began listening sessions in Winter Quarter of 2020 to gather ideas and concerns from WWU community members to draft a Disability Studies Institute pre-proposal document. In Summer 2020, the pre-proposal was submitted to the Provost's office, and was reviewed favorably, inviting us to submit a full institute proposal. We are here! Now, in Winter quarter 2021, we'll begin a second set of Listening Sessions and collecting surveys to solicit feedback from the WWU communty. Our goal is to refine the ideas, valus, and priorities that matter to us as a community. In the future, we plan to draft the full proposal from our listening sessions, survey feedback, and steering committee members, solicit additional community feedback, and finally submit the revised full proposal in Summer of 2021.

We are here! En route to the formation of a Disability Studies Institute at Western, we are soliciting feedback from the Western community via a second round of Listening Sessions and a survey. There are still more steps ahead of us, but we are excited to share this journey with you!

For more information, please contact disabilitystudies.wwu@gmail.com

 

Listening Sessions – Disability Studies and Action Collaborative

Disability at Western Listening Sessions

From February 14th to March 3rd, the Disability Studies and Action Collaborative is holding “listening sessions” with faculty and students from around campus. These sessions are sponsored by students, faculty, and staff who are working on issues related to disability and access at Western.

Advertising poster for listening sessions. All text on poster is included

Click here to enlarge and download poster

Topics for discussion will include:

  • Building a new interdisciplinary minor in Disability Studies
  • Creating new courses across the majors that address issues of disability culture, access, and ableism
  • Establishing a new cross-department institute in Disability Studies
  • Discussing campus accessibility issues
  • Addressing issues of ableism and unfair treatment of students and faculty with disabilities
  • Building networks between Western and the surrounding community on issues of disability

We are holding listening sessions for both students and faculty:

Listening Sessions for Students

  • Tue, Feb 18, 2pm in VU 552
  • Thu, Feb 27, 12pm in SL 150
  • Mon, Mar 2, 3pm in HH 153

Listening Sessions for Faculty

  • Fri, Feb 14, 4pm in CV 103
  • Fri, Feb 21, 1pm in HU 107
  • Thu, Feb 27, 5pm in CV 103
  • Tue, Mar 3, 3pm in CV 104

For more information, please contact disabilitystudies.wwu@gmail.com