Community Resources

The AAB (Architectural Access Board) meets periodically to review campus projects as related to disability and reviews/funds individual accommodation funding requests forwarded via AW or DS throughout the year. For more information about the AAB, contact the committee's chair, Ruth Yanka, at @email. 

The Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) provides guidance and advice to campus stakeholders to advance accessibility and disability awareness within the university community. Together, they assess current policies, programs, and procedures and recommend improvements to the appropriate vice chancellor; make recommendations on plans to raise awareness and educate the campus about disability, accessibility, campus resources, and best practices; and provide recommendations to the Architectural Access Board (AAB) regarding priorities/projects during the ADA transition planning process.  

If you have questions about this committee or have a concern that should be added to our agenda, please contact Kerri Gillett at @email. 

Open to UMass students, staff, faculty, and community members, the Alliance Against Ableism aims to:

• Have conversations around disability identity and inclusion and discuss its intersection with other identities.
•  Address ableism and barriers to inclusion and equality on campus and within the community. 
•  Incorporate disability into larger systemic conversations and help create a campus built for all people.
• Engage in programmatic and educational opportunities surrounding disability on campus and within the community.

Email @email for information.

Hosted by CCPH and Disability Services, College Living on the Spectrum* is a weekly drop-in space of peers talking about their experiences with support from co-facilitators in this weekly discussion group. Email Denny Bobot for more information.

*Spectrum refers to people who experience any elements of autism spectrum disorders, including (dis)abilities related to perception, sensory processing, language, executive function, and motor skills. Group members do not need a medical diagnosis to attend the group.

The Disability Culture Club was founded to spread disability culture and disability history throughout the UMass community. We aim to promote awareness of what “disability” means as a lived experience, as a social identity, and as a vibrant group with a shared heritage. Most of all, we aim to support our members and the disability community through fun activities and social events. Email @email for more information.

UMass Allies for Illness and Disability Access (UMAIDA) promotes a supportive network and work environment that is inclusive and accessible for all individuals with lived experience of disability, deafness, illness (chronic and mental), injury, neurodiversity, and their allies. The group also focuses on ways to support the recruitment, retention, professional development, and career advancement of employees with disabilities. Email @email for more information.