This Sunday, we celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), civil rights legislation that mandated the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life. The Act includes five titles (or sections) in this regard: Employment, Public Services, Public Accommodations and Services provided by private entities, Telecommunications, and provisions against retaliation and coercion and impact on insurance providers and benefits. Together with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which required affirmative action in employment by the federal government and prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs supported by federal agencies, this changed the lives of millions of Americans through federal law.
This legislation has been especially impactful for public higher education and has led to important infrastructure and curricular changes at institutions across the nation. A Chronicle of Higher Education story from as early as 2001 documented critical changes at universities, including Purdue, and highlighted the cultural shift from such improvements as “acts of charity” to moral and legal obligations. As recently as a month ago, the Chronicle has explored the continuing positive impact of this legislation, notably how accessibility plays a crucial role in decision making for students in the college selection process. And it is important that we are mindful not only that barriers persist for students—and how expectations consequent to this legislation has changed expectations for our students—and but also that they persist for faculty and staff. A Chronicle story from 2017 identified this as the “neglected demographic.”
The University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the University of Maine System more broadly, is committed to making our facilities and programs accessible to all members of our community. My thanks to all of the faculty, staff and students at UMPI dedicated to ensuring our responsiveness to this ethical imperative.