Celebrating Disability Awareness Month

Each October, we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and Disability Awareness Month, honoring the valuable contributions that students, faculty, and staff with disabilities bring to our community. As the birthplace of the disability rights movement, UC Berkeley continues to champion inclusion and equal opportunities for all, upholding its proud legacy of advocacy and accessibility.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark civil rights law protecting the rights of people with disabilities. To build on that legacy, Berkeley has created its first Campus Disability Strategic Plan, submitted by the Campus Advisory Council on Disability and Accessibility Planning. It is the first of its kind in the UC system.

Campus Events

• Disability Culture Community Center events (follow @ucbdisabilityculture for more details):
  • October 2, 2025: Honoring Your Wellness in High-Stress Environments with Mayor Ishii
  • October 7, 2025: “Disability Intimacy” Book Chat with Alice Wong
  • October 27, 2025: DSP Alumni Mixer: Business Vibe Check
• October 8, 2025: Reframing Accommodations: DSP Faculty Liaisons' Reflections on Inclusive Teaching
• October 13, 2025 from 1-3pm via Zoom: UC Berkeley Disability Community Town Hall.
   

Campus Departments

• Disabled Students' Program (DSP) including the Disability Cultural Community (DCC) Center and DSP Spectrum Connect
• Disability Access & Compliance (DAC), Digital Accessibility Program (DAP)
• Disabilities Studies Minor, Nakamura Disability Lab, and Othering & Belonging Institute Disability Studies Faculty Cluster
• Disability Reasonable Accommodation Program (supports disabled staff & campus units), Academic Personnel Office | Disability Accommodations, Duty Modification, Leaves (supports faculty & academic departments)

Campus Organizations

• Student orgs like American Sign Language at Berkeley, Disability Justice Coalition at Berkeley Law, and HaasAbilities Club as well as the ASUC Disabled Students’ Commission
• Grad Division Inclusive Excellence Hub
• Staff Alliance for Disability Access (SADA)

Read and Watch

• Ugly Laws by Susan M. Schweik, emeritus faculty and co-founder of the Disability Minor
• Disabled Ecologies: Lessons from a Wounded Desert by Prof. Sunaura Taylor
• UC Berkeley hosts National Symposium on Disability Cultural Centers

To learn more and/or submit additional events and resources, visit the Disability Awareness Month webpage.

Thank you,

Fabrizio Mejia
he/him
Interim Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion

Victoria Plaut
she/ella
Vice Provost for the Faculty

Stephen C. Sutton
he/him/his
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Eugene Whitlock 
he/him/his
Chief People and Culture Officer

To help create an environment that lives up to our seven Principles of Community, we will send regular messages to acknowledge various heritage/history months and holidays. While we won't include every month or holiday, we will make an effort to ensure members of our community feel represented. Additionally, Berkeley News and the Berkeley Life Blog will often post articles highlighting people, programs, and research that align with these heritage/history months and holidays. Learn more about our updated approach to heritage/history/prevention messaging

This message was sent to all staff, faculty, and students.

If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all.