A 16-member committee will oversee an audit of Syracuse University’s disability services and help make recommendations to improve the campus experience for community members with disabilities, the university announced in an SU News release Tuesday.

The steering committee, made up of faculty, staff and students, will look for a national consultant to conduct the audit, according to the release. The committee will work with the consultant to make recommendations, per the release.

The audit will include a review of the university’s processes and policies on student housing, academic and non-academic accommodations, medical leaves and other disability-related policies, according to the release.

Joanna Masingila, dean of the School of Education, and Michael Schwartz, an associate professor of law, will co-chair the committee. They’ll work with the committee to determine its goals and responsibilities, per the release.

Dolan Evanovich, senior vice president for enrollment and the student experience, said in March that recommendations from the review should be expected near the end of the fall 2018 semester.

Chancellor Kent Syverud first announced the possibility of a disability services audit during an address to the University Senate in December 2017. At the time, he said the committee should examine the location of the Office of Disability Services and how much money SU should allocate to disability services.

In January, Syverud said he requested assurance that SU will make “substantial progress” on its new Information and Communication Technology Accessibility Policy. The policy, which was first announced in December 2017, was implemented to ensure that classroom materials, library resources and digital content are accessible to those with disabilities.

Here are the members of the new steering committee:

• Joe Alfieri, director of Campus Planning, Design and Construction
• Portia Altman, counselor, Office of Disability Services
• Jenny Gluck, associate chief information officer for academic services
• Rob Hradsky, senior associate vice president of the student experience and dean of students
• Diana Katovitch, assistant director, Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education
• Stephen Kuusisto, professor, School of Education
• William Myhill, interim Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator
• Priya Penner, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences
• Paula Possenti-Perez, director, Office of Disability Services
• Scott Taylor, director of transfer and veterans admissions
• Kevin Treadway, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences
• Diane Wiener, director, Disability Cultural Center
• Edward Zaremba, a first-year student in the College of Law
• A University Senator, to be selected in consultation with the Senate Agenda Committee

Published on April 17, 2018 at 5:45 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18