Diversity in Academe: Disability on Campus

This special report examines the challenges that students, academics, and colleges face in dealing with disability on campus. It includes the voices of people who struggle with physical disabilities that make it difficult to navigate older buildings and lovely grounds, and of others who have less-visible conditions such as bipolar or autism-spectrum disorders. Some scholars, having learned how to manage their own conditions, have built successful academic careers despite having blanked out in the middle of a speech or being forced to suddenly cancel class or take a medical leave. Our coverage also reflects some continuing debates relating to disability, including whether the philosophy of universal design — design that is meant to benefit everybody — sufficiently accommodates those with special needs.