News

The Southeast ADA Center Will Broadcast the “ADA Live!” Episode 83: The ADA Then and Now: Celebrate ADA 30th Anniversary with the Honorable Tony Coelho

Wednesday – July 1, 2020
ADA30 – Celebrate. Learn. Share.  The ground-breaking civil rights law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, turns thirty in 2020.  What better way to celebrate than a conversation with the chief sponsor of the ADA bill in the House of Representatives, the Honorable Tony Coelho.

Mr. Coelho is a lifelong advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and as someone with a disability who has faced discrimination, Tony shares his unique perspective on how the ADA has made an impact in the lives of people with disabilities.  Mr. Coelho has had a distinguished career as a Congressman including serving as Chair of the President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities from 1994 until 2001. He currently serves as Chairman of the Epilepsy Foundation. Continue Reading

Barry Whaley, Director of Southeast ADA Center, Giving Keynote Presentation at National APSE Conference

On Thursday June 17th, Barry Whaley, M.S., Project Director of Southeast ADA Center a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University; Founding Board Member and Past President of Kentucky APSE; will be delivering the closing keynote speech at the National Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) 2020 Conference. The theme of the APSE conference is “Employment Fist Elevated”. To commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Whaley will reflect on significant events and leaders of the disability rights movement in their long yet rewarding journey towards equality. Continue Reading

Burton Blatt Institute, UK University Begin Study of Inclusive Public Spaces and Accessibility of Streets

The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University has begun a collaboration with the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom focusing on groundbreaking research into the accessibility of public spaces and the social justice problems resulting from an exclusionary infrastructure.

The Inclusive Public Space project is a global interdisciplinary research effort that explores the social justice problems caused by city streets that limit access for some pedestrians. The project focuses specifically on pedestrians with disabilities who may have difficulties using the pedestrian paths because of the way streets are designed, managed or maintained. Poor maintenance, uneven surfaces, potholes, poor lighting and other streetscape structures also create barriers. Continue Reading

The Southeast ADA Center Will Broadcast the “ADA Live!” Episode 82: History and the Future of Disability Rights: A Conversation with Judy Heumann

Wednesday – June 3, 2020

Join us in a powerful and noteworthy conversation about the history and the future of the disability rights movement in celebration of the Olmstead Decision and the 30th ADA Anniversary.

Judy Heumann is an author, disability rights leader, founder of the World Institute on Disability, former Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSSERS), former Special Advisor on Disability Rights for the U.S. State Department, and subject of the documentary Crip Camp. Judy will be our honored guest for this ADA Live! podcast, and the host will be Peter Blanck, Ph.D., J.D.,and University Professor & Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. Continue Reading

The Southeast ADA Center Launches Disability and COVID-19 Portal

The Southeast ADA Center (SEADA), a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and a member of the ADA National Network, announces the launch of the Disability and COVID-19 Portal.

The Portal, in development since mid-March, began as a way for the Southeast ADA Center to provide timely and relevant information for people with disabilities about the COVID-19 pandemic and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). You can explore the Portal through Alerts, Fast Facts, Virtual Events, and over 250 Resources from known national, federal, state, and organizational sources. Some information is available in Spanish, and American Sign Language. Continue Reading

BBI chairman, Peter Blanck, discusses The Future of Accessibility and Law as a panelist on “Live With Kellye and Ken”

Kellye and Ken“Live with Kellye & Ken” is an online running dialogue about the present and future of legal education. Each month, Deans Emeritus Kellye Testy (LSAC CEO) and Ken Randall (iLaw Founder and President) lead expert panels of law school deans in engaging online discussions of today’s important topics surrounding legal education and leadership.
Topic: The Future of Accessibility and Law
Date: May 19, 2020 at 4:00-5:00 pm ET (3:00-4:00 pm CT; 1:00-2:00 pm PT) Continue Reading

The Southeast ADA Center publishes a list of factual and authoritative resources to help the public understand the Coronavirus

COVID-19, or the Coronavirus, has been the subject of intense media attention for the past several weeks. Along with that attention comes the possibility of misinformation that results in unease and panic. The Southeast ADA Center, a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, has put together a list of factual and authoritative resources to help the public understand the Coronavirus. It includes information about how the virus is spread and what you can do to prevent infection. Continue Reading

BBI Distinguished International Fellow and BBI visiting Future Fulbright Scholar Wins National Award

Associate Professor Paul Harpur was appointed as a distinguished international BBI fellow in 2015 and is spending the first part of 2020 in the United States on a Future Fulbright Scholar project: “Universally Designed for Whom? Disability, the Law and Practice of Expanding the “Normal User” On this project he is working with Professor Peter Blanck, chairman of BBI, and Professor Michael Ashley Stein, Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability. Associate Professor Harpur said he was proud to be acknowledged for his leadership in translating disability strategy into a vision of ‘ability equality’ and core university business. “I dream of a university sector that is equally accessible to all students; whether they be able bodied or a student with a disability.”

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Interfaith Dialogue Dinner Series Addresses ‘Faith and Mental Health’ on March 3

Reprinted from Syracuse University News – Campus & Community

The University’s ongoing Interfaith Dialogue Dinner Series, “Common and Diverse Ground: Raising Consciousnesses by Acknowledging the ‘Hidden’ Things that Divide Us,” continues on Tuesday, March 3, with the second dialogue of the Spring 2020 semester. The dialogue will include an in-depth discussion on “Faith and Mental Health” with guest co-facilitator Shanti Das ’93 and student co-facilitator Shaelise Tor, a doctoral candidate. Continue Reading