On a Wednesday in mid-April, I decided to step away from work and go watch my oldest son Elliot compete in cabinetry at SkillsUSA NC state competition. I debated going for a moment—there are things to grade, a meeting or…

Recently in one of my productive distraction moments, I came across a tweet thread from Dr. Hannah Snyder (@Hannah_R_Snyder) that spurred reflection for me in my teaching, and has led to this discussion in this platform more broadly. Two articles…

As we start the new year and new semester, it is the season of planning, and we are likely planning for the larger events of next year or years ahead—conferences, speakers, special promotions. Let’s talk about inclusion for these events….

As many of our campuses are all in the rhythm of the semester, let’s explore what is being done or could be done to support inclusive opportunities throughout the many outstanding and engaging events on campus. College campuses are ripe…

Universal Design applied to a classroom is the concept that structuring your course and course materials can simplify, enhance, and make accessible the learning in your classroom. It originally started with physical spaces and continues to expand into many areas…

I have something on my mind that keeps coming up in my conversations around ableism in academia, neurodiversity in higher education, accommodations, universal design for learning (UDL), and topics in this realm. As I work to draft a couple blog…

The interview . . . the chance for face-to-face engagement . . . to assess and share knowledge, skills, excitement, “fit.” We use it for so many reasons including acceptance into a program, a school, a job—to award a scholarship,…

One of the hallmark high-impact practices is engagement in diversity (AAC&U). Many campuses equate this to their study abroad experiences, which could be short-term, semester long, or combination programs. On our campus, Elon University, we have a high level of…

As I challenge us to think about our structures and systems in academia that promote ableism (NCCJ, n.d.) often under the guise of rigor (Ketcham 2022), perhaps introducing some ways to enact change would be helpful. I do know that…

Whether you have heard about Universal Design (UD) before, or this is your introduction, I encourage you to note your first impression when looking at the unique space pictured to the left. To me, it is striking with the glass…