ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) and presents a case study in a cross-unit collaboration between UDI advocates at a public research university. It offers two first-person narrative accounts – a tenure-track faculty member and a Director of Disability Access Services – outlining the success of our partnership. The chapter describes the history of our combined efforts to promote UDI at Oregon State University and create accessible learning experiences beyond the requirements of legal compliance, including obstacles to our collaboration. Ableism, or the systemic privileging of bodies and minds judged to be normal and healthy, is ubiquitous in the United States. Academia is no exception; it was borne out of, preserves, and replicates disability discrimination, oppression, and prejudice. Disability Services, from a legally required perspective, first came into play in higher education in 1979 with the passage of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Universal Design (UD) was first introduced as a concept in architectural design.
