News

‘Someone Falls Overboard’: University Professor Stephen Kuusisto Co-Authors Book of Pandemic Poetry

Original Source: SU News & Diana Weiner

Setting the scene … It’s spring of 2020. The world has been shut down for a period of weeks or months (you stopped keeping track at some point). You are living with a disability—perhaps you’re blind or you have a highly complex autoimmune condition that makes it especially precarious to make your way through daily life during a global pandemic. You are feeling isolated, alienated, disconnected and at times downright terrified. What do you do? Continue Reading

BBI Chairman Peter Blanck and colleagues author Special Issue of Journal of Cancer Survivorship

The most recent issue of the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, the country’s leading journal on cancer survivors, systematic, scoping, and meta-analytic literature reviews, clinical investigations and policy-related research that can impact the quality of care and quality of life of cancer survivors, presents the research of Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute, Fitore Hyseni, Arzana Myderrizi, and Paul Harpur, who have contributed three articles for this special edition. In addition, our Rutgers partners (Disability Inclusive Employment Policy and Employer Disability Practices Center RRTC) Douglas Kruse, So Ri Park, and Yana van der Meulen Rodgers are also featured in this special edition. Continue Reading

Syracuse University School of Education Mourns the Passing of Ethel Blatt G’77

The Syracuse University School of Education mourns the passing of Ethel Blatt G’77, wife of former Dean Burton Blatt (1927-1985). Ethel Blatt passed away in Albany, NY, on Jan. 15, 2022. In addition to holding a master’s degree in teacher’s education from the School of Education, she was an employee of the University’s Psychoeducational Teaching Laboratory, alongside Professor Corinne Smith (1945-2021). Her outstanding contributions in lifelong and continuing education were recognized in 2011 with a William Pearson Tolley Medal for Adult Education and Lifelong Learning. Continue Reading

Thanks to Sen. Bob Dole, disabled Americans truly can pursue happiness (Guest Opinion by Stephen Kuusisto)

Bob Dole at a speaker podium
Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., makes a speech to supporters as he announced his bid for the Republican nomination for president in Topeka, Kan., April 10, 1995. Dole, who overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader from Kansas, died at 98. He championed the Americans with Disabilities Act, the last civil rights legislation to pass Congress. (Doug Mills | AP)AP

When the news reached me that Sen. Robert Dole has passed at 98, I was immediately reminded of my one and only meeting with him. I’m a disability rights activist and I’d been invited to the Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C., to see him receive a lifetime achievement award honoring his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act. He was joined by his co-recipient, Sen. Tom Harkin. his longtime Senate colleague and personal friend. Each man spoke about the bipartisanship and determined optimism that made the ultimate passage of the ADA possible. It was hard work. It was very hard work. Listening to Dole and Harkin, I felt tears stream down my face. My guide dog wondered what was up. Continue Reading

Jonathan Martinis interviewed on ABC “Britney Spears is free, but 1.3 million Americans still live under conservatorships”

Jonathan Martinis campaigns for an alternative to guardianships known as Supported Decision Making. According to Jonathan,  “The most important question we can ask before putting someone in guardianship is what else have you tried?” Britney Spears has put the issue of conservatorships firmly in the global spotlight. The singer was forced to go through an immense legal battle to regain control over her life. The decision to terminate the arrangement is being celebrated not just by Britney fans, but by disability rights advocates. Continue Reading

Disability Rights Today New Episode! Upcoming Supreme Court Term Critical Cases that Could Impact the Disability Community

Speakers

Peter Blanck
Host: Peter Blanck, JD, Ph.D. –  Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute and University Professor at Syracuse University
Claudia Center
Attorney: Claudia Center, JD, Legal Director of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Arlene Mayerson
Attorney: Arlene Mayerson, JD, Directing Attorney of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán
Attorney: Victoria Rodríguez-Roldán, JD, senior policy manager for AIDS United

Continue Reading

BBI Chairman Peter Blanck to Participate in DEI Roundtable Led by New York City Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities and Muscular Dystrophy Association

Peter Blanck
Peter Blanck
BBI Chairman & University Professor at Syracuse University

Peter Blanck, BBI Chairman & University Professor at Syracuse University, will participate in the DEI Roundtable sponsored by New York City Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities and Muscular Dystrophy Association, on October 5, 2021. The distinguished group of DEI authorities and advocates, educational leaders, and media executives, in engage a roundtable discussion. The group is to explore how our industries can promote an inclusive workplace by taking a leadership role in amplifying and creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals living with disabilities. The purpose is providing an open forum to discuss disability employment topics, share experiences, ideas, and challenges. The goal is to think global and act local by partnering with like-minded professionals within the New York Metro area uniting in our efforts as part of a DEI Coalition. Continue Reading

BBI Chairman Peter Blanck, Fitore Hyseni, and Fatma Altunkol Wise author Special Issue of American Journal of Law & Medicine

American Journal of Law & Medicine Special Issue on National Study of Discrimination in the Legal Profession Facing Lawyers with Disabilities and Who Identify as LGBTQ+, by BBI Chairman Peter Blanck, Fitore Hyseni, and Fatma Altunkol Wise

The Spring 2021 issue of the American Journal of Law & Medicine (AJLM), the country’s leading health law journal, presents the research of Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute, Fitore Hyseni, and Fatma Altunkol Wise, who have conducted a seminal national study on reported discrimination and bias in the legal profession facing lawyers with disabilities and lawyers who identify as LGBTQ+ — with additional commentary by prominent legal practitioners and scholars. Continue Reading

Southeast ADA Center Announces Launch of Disability Rights Today Podcast Series in celebration of the ADA 31st Anniversary

Court House stepsThe Southeast ADA Center, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, is pleased to announce the launch of a new podcast series, Disability Rights Today –your source for in depth discussion about important court cases that shape the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  In celebration of the 31st ADA anniversary, please join us on July 26 for our next episode featuring the recently decided court case – Crawford v. Hinds County Board of Supervisors, (5th Circuit Court of Appeals, 2021). Topics include jury duty and courthouse access.  Our guests will be the plaintiff, Dr. Scott Crawford and his lead counsel, Andrew Bizer, with the law firm Bizer & Dereus, New Orleans, LA. Continue Reading

BBI’s Jonathan Martinis featured in Times, Washington Post, PBS, and BPR “How Britney Spears’ Case Could Change the Future of Conservatorship”

“Every time we shine a little bit of light, things get easier for everyone after that. Britney’s not just shining a light, she’s a huge spotlight,” says Martinis. “So maybe just maybe the conversation changes a little bit and the culture changes a little bit. And we say before guardianship, what else can we do?” “It’s a cultural failure,” says Jonathan Martinis, senior director for law and policy at Syracuse University’s Burton Blatt Institute and a leading expert on alternatives to conservatorship. Continue Reading