Chancellor King Announces SUNY Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellowship Program
January 9, 2025
11 Fellows will Promote and Grow Accessibility Practices Across SUNY that Build in Flexibility and Support for Students
More Than 10% of Students Enrolled Across SUNY Self-Identify as Having a Disability
Photos of the Inaugural Class of Fellows Available Here
Albany, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced the inaugural fellows for the SUNY Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellowship Program. A total of 11 fellows from across the SUNY System will work to expand digital accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) practices across their campuses, which is crucial for student success.
"There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker, and we are committed to excellence and inclusivity across our 64 SUNY campuses," said SUNY Chancellor King. "The work of our inaugural Accessibility Fellows is crucial to ensuring our faculty have the support to consistently adopt inclusive teaching practices to guarantee student success and upward mobility."
SUNY Board Trustee Marcos Crespo said, "Inclusivity is the foundation upon which SUNY was built. The work of the Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellows will play a key role in guaranteeing SUNY continually advances a supportive and welcoming environment."
SUNY Board Trustee Camille Joseph Varlack said, "Everything we do is centered on student success, meeting students where they are and providing them with the necessary tools to thrive and increase their upward mobility. The expertise and experience of the Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellows will be essential for SUNY in supporting faculty as they apply the latest policies surrounding inclusivity and accessibility."
The inaugural fellows of the SUNY Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellowship Program are:
- Shannon Bessette, Jamestown Community College, Professor, Social Sciences
- Liz Bowen, Upstate Medical University, Assistant Professor, Bioethics and Humanities
- Kathy Doody, Buffalo State University, Professor, Exceptional Education
- Melissa Glenn, SUNY Broome Community College, Associate Professor, Biology
- Shelly Jones, SUNY Delhi, Professor, English
- Talia Lipton, Rockland Community College, Associate Professor, Communications Studies
- Gillian Paku, SUNY Geneseo, Associate Professor, English
- Carrie Rood, SUNY Cortland, Associate Professor, Foundations and Social Advocacy
- Casey Ryan, Hudson Valley Community College, Associate Professor, Business and Criminal Justice
- Jessica Sniatecki, SUNY Brockport, Associate Professor, Healthcare Studies
- Nicole Tschampel, Westchester Community College, Associate Professor, Art and Design
Students with disabilities self-identifying with their campus Disability Services or Accessibility Resources offices are increasing as a share of total enrollment, with over 10% of students enrolled across the SUNY System. This number does not capture the many students who do not self-identify with the student disability office, either because they do not know they are eligible or have chosen not to disclose due to a wide variety of reasons, including stigma. SUNY has invested $10 million in annual recurring State funding to increase support to students with disabilities at all State-operated campuses.
The SUNY Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellowship program is co-sponsored by the SUNY Office of Student Success in partnership with the Office of the Provost and supported by the Universal Design for Learning at SUNY project. This cohort of fellows will establish a community of faculty leaders and champions committed to promoting and growing accessibility practices in and out of the classroom on their campuses. During this program fellows will:
- Explore models and strategies to build and expand a culture of access on their campuses;
- Share their expertise and experience as they identify obstacles and work towards solutions to broaden adoption of accessibility practices;
- Connect with other communities of practice and campus leaders with a shared vision, including but not limited to: Disability/Accessibility Directors, EIT Accessibility Officers, Chief Diversity Officers, Chief Information Officers, Teaching Center Directors, Directors of Online Learning, SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology, Instructional Designers;
- Grow as faculty leaders as they coordinate with campus leadership to design and execute a plan to engage their campus community in the work of access.
This program is facilitated by Professor Rebecca Mushtare, an experienced faculty member and Associate Dean from SUNY Oswego, who has successfully worked with her campus leadership to cultivate a culture of access on campus. The fellowship lasts a full calendar year, and each cohort will consist of 11 fellows. The fellowship is organized into three phases that are allotted four months each: discovery and analysis, design and development, and implementation and evaluation.
SUNY Oswego Professor and Associate Dean Rebecca Mushtare said, "I am honored to build upon the accessibility work at SUNY Oswego at the system level and look forward to collaborating with this knowledgeable cohort of SUNY faculty colleagues. Proactively addressing accessibility during the design phase of programs, curriculum, content, materials, environments and experiences is essential to a more inclusive culture. Supporting faculty champions, like the SUNY Accessibility Advocates and Allies Faculty Fellows, who can engage a team across their campus, is key to advancing this work across disciplines and empowering all content creators, including students."
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
Share this:
Holly Liapis
518-320-1311
Email the Office of Communications
