Here's an interesting story on the University of Arizona's initiative to create a Disability Studies program. It certainly helps to provide perspective on the work that needs to be done here in Idaho. Although we have a lot of staff who are interested in the program, we are really lacking in good, committed faculty. Maybe this is partially my fault for not spending more time on campus with faculty, but it could also be the environment. It's hard to tell.
The real issue comes down to priorities. Although there are a lot of faculty who have said they support Disability Studies and want to see more offerings here at the University of Idaho, there are very few who are willing to devote time and effort to see that it happens. Many faculty don't feel that they have a strong background in disability, and are reticent to participate in a program that is a little outside of their area of expertise. I can sympathize with this, but I think that it means that we need to do more outreach to help faculty see that disability isn't necessarily a discrete content area, but rather a generalized interdisciplinary construct that pertains to all content areas and specializations.
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