Light at the End of the Tunnel: One Student at a Time, Wright State has Become One of the Country's Leaders in Accommodating Students With Disabilities
By Fisher, Mark; Black Issues In Higher Education,Publication Date: July 2002
Article discusses how Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio has become one of the nation’s leaders in accommodating students with disabilities. Wright State’s first buildings were constructed in a cornfield near Dayton in the mid-1960s, and included an underground tunnel system that school officials thought would make moving materials from building to building much more convenient. The tunnels served that purpose well, but also attracted attention from students who used wheelchairs, who found that the tunnels gave them easy access to every building on campus. By the early 1970s, Wright State officials recognized that they were helping to carve a niche for students with disabilities, so they applied for and obtained federal grants to further improve access and better serve students with disabilities. By 2002, Wright State’s Office of Disability Services serves 550 students out of the school’s total enrollment of 14 thousand. An estimated 250 to 300 students have disabilities, yet do not require the office’s services, in part because the campus was built with their needs in mind. It was among the first schools to serve students who use ventilators, and students who could not speak but who use communication boards or voice output software on computers.
Published by: Cox, Matthews & Associates, Inc. (Website:http://www.cmapublishing.com)
Cox, Matthews & Associates, Inc. (Web Site: http://www.cmapublishing.com )
Link to text: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_11_19/ai_89809459
