By AMY MEYER
Staff intern
The Center for Disability Studies, located in Senior Hall, is seeking official status from the office of Eastern Washington University's Provost, Dr. Rex Fuller. Director Dr. Romel Mackelprang wrote a proposal last year, which has the endorsement of Vickie Shields, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Social Work.
Mackelprang explained that Disability Support Services was a federally mandated program to connect services through the university to a specific group who have been medically certified as disabled.
In contrast, The Center for Disability Services has been in operation since the United States Department of Education awarded a grant in 2005. They seek opportunities to create environments where all students can excel and prosper. They emphasize “universal access,” which enables people regardless of ability or background to include themselves in society.
Kaarina Mewhinney, assistant director, explained that curb cuts were a good example of universal access. Curb cuts are the dips on the corners of sidewalks and were originally installed to allow wheelchair access, but now strollers, bicyclists, skateboards and walkers use these modifications. In the process of making a better world for the disabled, people universally benefitted.
The center has generated 1350 student credit hours. Last year, an excess of 20 students finished a 15-credit hour certificate program through the center. These students learn about disability and the culture of disability as well as inclusivity. The faculty have benefitted from the center's workshops on universal access.
Mewhinney said that the center has also developed curriculum that could benefit the university's finances.
“If we took that workshop and we tweaked it for K through 12, then we could offer it online for those people to get their Continuing Ed credits,” she said.
Hugh Kelly, online instructor for the center, agreed, “The hard work, which is developing course work, has been developed. It's not like we're writing curriculum from scratch.”
“Up until now, we've generated about $2 million in … grants, contracts … and we have had no university support. Everything we've done has been on our own,” Mackelprang said.
Mewhinney pointed out that while official status would be helpful, a budget would help too. That money would be used to write grants. Their current grant funding is allocated strictly for the tasks that won the grant.
She said the budget would enable the center to modify their programming to serve broader audiences, including online classes.
But Shields said the EWU's official stamp wouldn't benefit the center's financial situation. There is no money coming from the state, rather state money has been cut back. She said that Dr. Mackelprang's salary has come from EWU, but the rest of the center has been grant supported.
Shields said that Associate Dean Nick Jackson has been working with Dr. Mackelprang to transition the center from grant support to self support. Presently Sheilds's college has three self-supporting units in Bellevue: children's studies, psychology and interdisciplinary studies.
Fuller indicated through email that he was reviewing the center's proposal and had asked for clarification on “a number of issues.”
But Shields explained that the process for formal recognition was lengthy, but she didn't anticipate any hurdles stopping the university from giving the center an official stamp.
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