Introducing....The Office of Equity & Access

The Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity (OIDE) is now the Office of Equity and Access (OEA). We still serve the entire Stony Brook Community - from Southhampton to Main Campus to Manhattan and everywhere else there are Stony Brook University programs or activities.   Our primary office functions include:

Investigation of Allegations of Discrimination Investigations of Complaints of Sexual Misconduct Employee Disability Accommodation Requests Ensuring Equal Opportunity and Access Training, Outreach and Prevention

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OEA Not (Yet) in Our Campus Office, But We are Still here

Covid-19 has created difficult circumstances for so many in our community and beyond. OEA is proud of the amazing efforts at Stony Brook University -- from our healthcare heros to our rapidly adapting faculty to those who built new facilities virtually overnight to staff working hard from home and anyone and everyone in our Stony Brook University community just doing what must be done.

Everyone at OEA looks forward to when we will all be working and learning together in person again -- hopefully in the new academic year. We want you all to know that although OEA has not been able to physically be there in our offices in 201 Administration, we are still here - and will still be here - responding to your OEArelated needs - from complaint investigation to reasonable accommodation to
training - we have got you covered.

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Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disaiblities Act (ADA)

Yesterday we marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Upon signing the ADA into law President Bush stated, “It signals the end to the unjustified segregation and exclusion of persons with disabilities from the mainstream of American life.” Stony Brook University has a proud history as an inclusive and accessible campus. The Office of Equity and Access would like to highlight a few SUNY and National events that are occurring this Wednesday, as well as provide information regarding several upcoming disability related events and initiatives.

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ADA 30th Anniversary Events 

• The U.S. Access Board is hosting a Virtual Celebration of the ADA July 29 from 1:30 - 3:00
• SUNY is hosting Celebrating Diversity Through Disability: In Search of Common
  
  Values July 29 from 3:00 - 4:30.
• The Disabilities Working group and OEA will be hosting a series of events celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month this upcoming October. Please be on the lookout for the NDEAM event schedule.
• The President's ADA advisory Committee will be holding its annual colloquium on October 30 2020; details will be announced shortly.

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OEA Welcomes...Glenn Dauch, Web Accessibilty Officer

OEA is please to announce that Glenn Dausch has joined our team as the Web Accessibility Officer/EIT Coordinator. In this inaugural role, Glenn will lead the development and implementation of our Campus Accessibility Plan, and serve as a subject matter expert on Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) accessibility matters.

Glenn comes to us after serving for many years as the Assistive technology specialist at SASC. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience surrounding digital accessibility.

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OEA Seeks Accessibilty Feedback

When the ADA was originally signed into law, we could not have imagined the outsize role digital technology would come to play in our lives. Nevertheless, the need for accessibility in digital spaces is now recognized as being just as important as the need for accessibility in physical spaces. We use digital tools to create documents and media, host meetings or classes, and conduct all manner of business online. The “Access Technology” (also known as assistive or adaptive technology) used is equally as varied. Many of the products and features we use each day started out as assistive technologies. The voice recognition in smart phones or
smart home devices, the ability to increase font, and alter color contrast on a computer, and the text to speech allowing your phone to read your texts or caller id, all began as Access Technologies.

Do you use Access Technology?

Would you like the opportunity to help the campus enhance the accessibility of the products and services you use at work?

In an effort to ensure that we account for the diverse needs of all campus community members, OEA is seeking to connect with employees who wish to volunteer feedback on their use of Access Technology and their interactions with the programs, websites and other electronic media used throughout the workday. The recent changes to work as a result of Covid 19 mean that we are relying on technology more than we ever thought possible.

If you are interested in participating, or would like more information, please email:
digital_accessibility@stonybrook.edu.

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Want to Learn More About Digital Accessibility?

We invite you to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ADA by learning more about digital accessibility. SUNY is providing access to Deque University, (a digital accessibility training platform). All Stony Brook University Faculty and staff can access the training free of charge. Trainings cover a wide variety of topics from the need to focus on accessibility, to designing and testing for accessibility in documents and the web. Those interested in making their content accessible should complete the Deque Training request form or email  glenn.dausch@stonybrook.edu.

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Employee Accommodation Process

In this time of rapidly changing workplaces,  the ADA is more important than ever. If you have an impairment or disability that you believe could require an accommodation, please contact oea_ada@stonybrook.edu or go to our Accommodation Process webpage.

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Want to Read More About the ADA?

To learn more about the impact of the ADA two recent books might be of interest:

• Disability Visibility, Edited by Alice Wong
• Being Heumann, by Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner