Syracuse University’s Burton Blatt Institute has formed a new interdisciplinary research office to expand its research and outreach across SU’s 11 schools and colleges.

Stephen Kuusisto, an author and University Professor, and Diane Wiener, former director of SU’s Disability Cultural Center, will lead the office.

The office will use artificial intelligence to help people with disabilities, improve student housing for students with disabilities and ensure that the campus is welcoming to disabled veterans, Kuusisto and Wiener said.

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“It’s about building an academic village around disability,” Kuusisto said. “There are endless areas of possibility here. Disability is everywhere once you learn how to look for it.”

The Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach officially launched in November. Both disability rights activists, Kuusisto and Wiener, will serve as director and associate director, respectively. Wiener left her position at the DCC in December to join BBI.

“We decided to create a program specifically designed to reach out to colleges and departments at (SU) that haven’t historically been involved with disability, but may be very much interested in it,” Kuusisto said.

BBI works to “advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities,” according to the institute’s website. In April, BBI will move from Crouse-Hinds Hall to Dineen Hall, where the College of Law is housed.

Kuusisto is a Fulbright Scholar and graduate of the Iowas’ Writer Workshop. He has written three memoirs and published collections of his poetry, and previously taught disability studies in SU’s School of Education.

In Weiner’s time leading the DCC, she worked to highlight and improve the experiences of students with disabilities, including by creating a Comic Con-like event with characters and superheroes with disabilities, Wiener said.

Her new role will allow her to expand the scope of her work while still working with the DCC and students with disabilities, she said.

Kuusisto said the decision was made to incorporate the office into BBI “because it has a reputation for global excellence in disability.” Instead of being connected to BBI’s legal work, the office will be directed toward bringing people together from different fields, Kuusisto said.

BBI is named after Burton Blatt, who served as the dean of SU’s School of Education in the 1970s. Blatt was a disability rights advocate who rose awareness of violence and discrimination against people with disabilities, Wiener said. The institute named in his honor was opened in 2005.

The office will expand upon existing programs and partnerships rather than creating overlapping initiatives. Kuusisto said the office is also looking for outside funding in the form of grants and partnerships to work on projects.

He said he would like to partner with artificial intelligence companies such as Microsoft to break down the barriers between technology and disability engagement with new autonomous systems and smart technologies. SU could open up the campus to be a workshop for artificial intelligence and universal design, Kuusisto said.

There is no field that isn’t connected to disability because people with disabilities are the “largest human minority group,” Kuusisto said.

Wiener said she and Kuusisto are already in communication with SU faculty who are interested in working with the office on topics including wellness, literature, the arts and athleticism.

“At the heart of all of this is the experiences of disabled people,” Wiener said.

Published on January 23, 2019 at 10:41 pm

Contact Casey: casey@dailyorange.com | @caseydarnell_