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Disability Resource Center

The Inside Scoop - February 2008

Need Extra Money for College?
Tired of Loans to Pay Back?
Why not Apply for a Scholarship?

Stacy Willis Memorial Scholarship

Deadline: March 1, 2008

Amount of Award: Up to $2,500 for one year only (2008-2009)

Eligibility: Must have completed at least 30 hours at UALR or another accredited college or university (graduate students may apply); have a GPA of 2.50 or higher; and have organization/community involvement

Applications Available: Disability Resource Center, DSC 103, or call us at 501.569.3143 (v/tty) to request that one be e-mailed or faxed to you

A Good Strategy When Applying: Scholarship applications should be professional looking, checked for grammatical errors, and your responses to questions A—E must be typed (you may use a computer and attach the answers to the application). It is very important that applicants follow all of the instructions, and turn in everything by the deadline. The Stacy Willis Scholarship application process is not difficult or time consuming, so please consider applying if you are eligible!

Other Scholarships/Resources Available

Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Award—blind/low vision
http://www.rfbd.org/applications_awards.htm

Bank of America ADA Abilities Scholarship
http://www.scholarshipprograms.org/bada/bada_2005_ins.htm

Ralph G. Norman Scholarship—learning disabilities
http://www.ldaarkansas.org/scholarships.html

Pfizer Epilepsy Scholarship Award
http://www.epilepsy-scholarship.com/

UALR Private Scholarships
http://www.ualr.edu/development/

Disability-related Scholarships and Grants (binder located in the DRC office, DSC 103)

New Staff Hired at the Disability Resource Center

The DRC welcomes John Barbuto, our new Access Consultant. He completed his Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling through UALR’s online program, and has a range of disability-related experiences, both professional and personal. He has moved here from Syracuse, NY for this position. We know you will enjoy meeting him. He has taken the place of Katy Evans, now the director of disability services at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock.

Volunteers Needed at the Polls

If you are interested in the political process and in having volunteer experience for your resume, consider volunteering to work during elections. Contact Vincent McKinney at the Disability Rights Center in Little Rock, 501-296-1775, ext. 126, 800-482-1174, or vmckinney@arkdisability.org.

Job Opportunity

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic Regional Unit of the South Central States is seeking a State Director to provide leadership, management and coordination of the fund raising, program development, recruitment, public relations, outreach and communications for the State. To support the Regional Unit’s mission, policies, procedures and goals by implementing said policies on the state level and to work towards furthering RFB&D as One Organization. College Degree and related experience required including fundraising expertise, program management, and strong organizational and communication skills. Demonstrated ability to recruit and motivate volunteers.

The SD will work collaboratively with the Regional Executive Director, Regional Development Director, and the Regional Outreach Director on ensuring outcomes for the Unit’s goals and objectives. The Regional Unit serves Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Salary range is commensurate with educational and experience. Excellent benefits, retirement plan, and generous PTO program.

Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter to Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, Regional Unit of the South Central States, 1314 West 45th Street, Austin, TX 78756. Resumes can be faxed to (512) 323-9399 or via e-mail to lserafine@rfbdscs.org.

Updated 2.1.2008

The Inside Scoop - September 2007

Welcome back to those of returning and welcome to you new folks! Please email slqueller@ualr.edu if you’d like to reply to this message.

ANNOUNCEMENT

We have changed our name to Disability Resource Center (from Disability Support Services). This is part of a major reorganization and shift in approach for our department.

OPEN HOUSE

Please come visit us on Thursday, September 13. Drop in at 103 DSC any time between 1:00 and 2:30 for refreshments, to discuss all the exciting changes we have going on, and check out some of our resources that are available to you.

Can’t wait to find out what we’ve been up to?! Keep reading…

BIG CHANGES

We have undergone quite a transformation since earlier this year. In addition to the name change, we have a new mission statement, new web site, restructured staff positions, revised faculty letter, new syllabus statement, and new tag line.

So what is this all about? Here’s a brief explanation:

The medical model of disability is widely seen in many settings, including universities. In that model, the student with a disability is the locus of the problem, and that problem needs to be fixed or mitigated in some way.

The basic idea of the social model of disability is that the ‘problem’ resides in the environment, and not in the individual. Under this model, we are all working toward creating more usable, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable learning environments. For DRC, this means outreach to the campus community, partnering with staff, and collaborating with students and faculty to create learning environments that work for everyone.

Universal Design in instruction focuses on designing learning environments in such a way that many accommodations for disabilities will be unnecessary. For instance, if a professor posts notes from lectures in their course management systems for all students to access, then recruiting a notetaker for a student for whom a disability interferes with taking notes would be unnecessary.

To give you one example of a change we made during this paradigm shift, consider our old tag line: “The education you want, the services you need.” This implies that the student can’t access the educational setting without seeking out the “disability experts” who would have all the answers. Consider our new tag line: “Creative Solutions. Together.” This is more collaborative and positive, and does not put the student in the position of feeling needy. Solutions can be found with any of the players: the student, faculty, staff, administration, our office, or any combination of these.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

See you at the Open House!

Susan Queller, Director
UALR Disability Resource Center
103 Donaghey Student Center
Phone: 569-3143 (voice/tty)
Email: slqueller@ualr.edu
www.ualr.edu/disability

Updated 9.6.2007

The Lowdown - September 2007

Welcome back to those of returning and welcome to you new folks! Please email slqueller@ualr.edu if you’d like to reply to this message.

ANNOUNCEMENT

We have changed our name to Disability Resource Center (from Disability Support Services). This is part of a major reorganization and shift in approach for our department.

OPEN HOUSE

Please come visit us on Thursday, September 13. Drop in at 103 DSC any time between 1:00 and 2:30 for refreshments, to discuss all the exciting changes we have going on, and check out some of our resources that are available to you.

Can’t wait to find out what we’ve been up to?! Keep reading…

BIG CHANGES

We have undergone quite a transformation since earlier this year. In addition to the name change, we have a new mission statement, new web site, restructured staff positions, revised faculty letter, new syllabus statement, and new tag line.

So what is this all about? Here’s a brief explanation:

The medical model of disability is widely seen in many settings, including universities. In that model, the student with a disability is the locus of the problem, and that problem needs to be fixed or mitigated in some way.

The basic idea of the social model of disability is that the ‘problem’ resides in the environment, and not in the individual. Under this model, we are all working toward creating more usable, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable learning environments. For DRC, this means outreach to the campus community, partnering with staff, and collaborating with students and faculty to create learning environments that work for everyone.

Universal Design in instruction focuses on designing learning environments in such a way that many accommodations for disabilities will be unnecessary. For instance, if a professor posts notes from lectures in their course management systems for all students to access, then recruiting a notetaker for a student for whom a disability interferes with taking notes would be unnecessary.

To give you one example of a change we made during this paradigm shift, consider our old tag line: “The education you want, the services you need.” This implies that the student can’t access the educational setting without seeking out the “disability experts” who would have all the answers. Consider our new tag line: “Creative Solutions. Together.” This is more collaborative and positive, and does not put the student in the position of feeling needy. Solutions can be found with any of the players: the student, faculty, staff, administration, our office, or any combination of these.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

See you at the Open House!

Susan Queller, Director
UALR Disability Resource Center
103 Donaghey Student Center
Phone: 569-3143 (voice/tty)
Email: slqueller@ualr.edu
www.ualr.edu/disability

Updated 9.5.2007