Syracuse University announced on Tuesday that it’s seeking members for a committee to help oversee an audit of campus disability services that was first announced by Chancellor Kent Syverud last year.

An SU press release published Tuesday afternoon said the audit would begin “soon.” No specific date was set. Chancellor Kent Syverud first announced the possibility of an audit during an address to the University Senate in December.

The steering committee will be made up of administrators, students, faculty and staff. The committee will be responsible for choosing a national consultant to perform the audit, according to the release. The committee will also work with the consultant to implement recommendations to better serve SU’s disability community, per the release.

Students, faculty and staff can self-nominate or nominate someone else for the steering committee by Monday, April 2 by emailing Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly. Wheatly and Dolan Evanovich, senior vice president for enrollment and the student experience, along with Pete Sala, vice president and chief facilities officer, will head the committee.

“Despite our progress in making Syracuse University more welcoming for everyone, we know we need to make significant improvements in the service of students, faculty and staff with disabilities,” Wheatly said in the Tuesday press release.

The audit, which will start after the committee is assembled and selects a consultant, will evaluate aspects of SU policy in regard to housing, medical leaves and service animals, among other things. Syverud, in his December Senate address, said the committee should examine the location of the Office of Disability Services and how much money SU should allocate to disability services.

In January, the chancellor also said he’s requested Wheatly to assure that SU will make “substantial progress” this semester on assuring that, under the university’s new Information and Communication Technology Accessibility Policy, “our classroom materials, library resources and many other areas of digital content are accessible to those with disabilities.”

That technology policy was first announced at the start of December 2017 and took effect earlier this month.

Evanovich, in a student media press briefing in early March, gave an overview of the status of the disability services audit. He said recommendations from the review can be expected near the end of the fall 2018 semester.

Published on March 20, 2018 at 8:57 pm

Contact Catherine: ccleffer@syr.edu | @ccleffert