Awarded grant from Harvard Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

In 2020, our cross-Harvard team was awarded a grant from the Harvard Culture Lab and Innovation Fund. With these funds, we are teaching PIs how to implement Universal Design (UD), the design principle that built spaces can be made accessible for everyone (e.g., adjustable height workstations, closed captioning). Our team is producing a “how to” brochure for wide distribution, holding a training and discussion for interested PIs, and implementing UD in a handful of Harvard labs as pilots. We are also creating a database of accessibility features for the undergraduate sciences labs at Harvard (~200), removing barriers students encounter when seeking lab positions.

Our team hopes to open a dialogue among faculty who may not be aware of the barriers faced by students with disabilities. If labs can become more accessible, an accommodative culture can become the new norm.

Our grant team includes Maryam Borton (SEAS Environmental Health & Safety), Sofia Diaz-Rodriguez (Neuroscience Concentrator), Michelle Hermans (University Disability Resources), Logan McCarty (FAS Science Education), Tim Rogers (HMS/HSDM Disability Services), Gwen Volmar (Undergraduate Research and Fellowships).