A student and two staff members will be honored at the University of Iowa's 2012 Disability Celebration hosted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity in the Chief Diversity Office along with its co-sponsors, Faculty and Staff Disability Services, Student Disability Services, and Facilities Management. UI President Sally Mason will present the awards.
The celebration, which is free and open to the public, will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in Room 115 in the Center for Disabilities and Development, located west of the Iowa River on Hawkins Drive.
This year's theme is "Keep Me in the Loop" and will feature David Myers, a UI alumnus and a social psychologist at Hope College in Holland, Mich., who will present, via technology, on hearing loops.
A hearing loop system will be provided to assist those with cochlear implants or hearing aids. Those planning on attending who have hearing aids and who are not sure if they have or know how to operate their T-coil function, should visit their audiologist prior to attending the event.
This year's celebration will also feature the Braverman Scholarship and the Above and Beyond Award recipients.
Braverman Scholarship
Nicole Lustig, a doctoral student in the Psychological and Quantitative Foundations Department in the UI College of Education, will be honored with the David and Rosalie Braverman Scholarship.
Lustig will receive the $2,000 scholarship because of the care and competence that she demonstrates in her work with children and adults who have disabilities. Her work as a graduate assistant in the Day Treatment Behavioral Health Clinic at the Center for Disabilities and Development earned high praise from her clinical supervisors. Lustig also volunteered to provide childcare at autism workshops for parents of children on the spectrum to give those parents a much-needed break so that they were able to fully participate in the workshops. Lustig has an interest in working with patients who have suffered Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and has spoken broadly on this topic.
Under the auspices of the UI Foundation and the Office of Student Disability Services, the David and Rosalie Braverman Scholarship was created to encourage graduate or professional students with disabilities to advance their education at the UI. David Braverman and his family established this fund in 1976 to support various projects for persons with disabilities at the UI.
Above and Beyond Awards
Carly Armour is being honored with an Above and Beyond Award for her extraordinary leadership and devotion to assisting individuals with disabilities.
Armour is a disability advisor in Student Disability Services (SDS). She was chosen for this aware because she has gone above and beyond in fulfilling SDS’ mission of assuring equal access through reasonable accommodations for students by cultivating opportunities for self-advocacy and independence that allow students to benefit from their college experience and to be successful.
Armour has been a member of the Council for Disability Awareness for more than four years and currently serves as co-chair of the council. Armour was also instrumental in the formation of the Student Disability Organization, and is currently coordinating efforts to improve accessibility at the LGBT Resource Center.
David Ricketts, director of UI Parking and Transportation, is also being honored with an Above and Beyond Award for his outstanding efforts in improving accessibility at the University Services Building (USB).
USB, one of the most frequently visited and used buildings on campus, is accessible by Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. However, in 2011, Ricketts went above and beyond by leading efforts to provide a ramped sidewalk and marked crosswalk from Prentiss Street to USB. The project was completed in spring of 2012. Ricketts is a member of the Disability Planning and Action Committee.
Under the auspices of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, the Above and Beyond Award is given annually to faculty, staff, or students in recognition of their innovative and distinctive efforts to enhance the opportunities of individuals with disabilities at the UI.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to participate in this program, contact the UI Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity in advance at 319-335-0705 (phone) or 319-335-0697 (TDD) or email at diversity@uiowa.edu.
For more information about the Above and Beyond Award, contact Tiffini Stevenson Earl at 319-335-0705 or tiffini-stevenson-earl@uiowa.edu, and for more information on the Braverman Scholarship, contact Mark Harris at 319-335-0705 or mark-harris@uiowa.edu.