Blog
February 13th 2010
...And it’s official
February 6 was the official announcement of the new Disability Studies degree program that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.
The event, held in the University of Winnipeg’s convocation hall, attracted several important members of the disability community in Manitoba. Spearheading the announcement was Professor Michelle Owen, chair of the Disability Studies advisory committee. Other committee members were in attendance, such as Andrea Johnston of Disability Services and Jim Derksen, a prominent disability activist.
Derksen spoke about the increasing awareness of disability issues in Manitoba and said he thought the new program will be successful in making the province an even more disability-friendly place, in terms of both awareness and accessibility.
Dean Fitzpatrick, Lloyd Axworthy and president and CEO of Red River College, Catherine Rushton, all made brief speeches expressing their excitement about the program. They all spoke of their hope that the program will help increase the number of students with disabilities at the U of W.
Dean Fitzpatrick mentioned persons with disabilities are largely underrepresented at the U of W considering 15.5 per cent of Canada’s population lives with a disability.
Axworthy also took the time to announce the planned move of the disability resource centre.
All in all, I think it is great that the U of W is really striving to not only expand the types of degrees offered, but to make a conscious effort to improve the student experience for those with disabilities and increase their presence on campus.
However, there may be some things that I am unaware of that the U of W could improve upon when it comes to disability issues.
What do others think? Is the U of W doing their part for the disability community or are there still things that could be improved?
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