Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

Disability Studies Scholars Honored During Celebration of Achievement

Thirteen University of Maine Interdisciplinary Disability Studies scholars (three graduate students and ten undergraduates) were honored during the Interdisciplinary Disability Studies (IDS) Celebration of Achievement at Buchanan Alumni House. The Interdisciplinary Disability Studies curriculum, administered through the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, provides students with a means to explore disability within the larger context of diversity and human rights, and to examine scholarship, practice, and policy related to persons with disabilities.
Graduate students Heather L. MacDuffie (Social Work) and Karen Boulos McPhee (Early Intervention) successfully completed Interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs with a doctoral concentration in Disability Studies. Graduate student Jacqueline K. Wilson (Social Work) successfully completed the Master of Social Work program with a master’s concentration in Disability Studies.

Ten undergraduates were honored for completing the 24-credit Undergraduate Minor in Disability Studies. Kenneth Harvey (Social Work) delivered the student address (link to remarks here). Stephen F. Gilson, Coordinator and Professor of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies and Social Work, and Elizabeth DePoy, Professor of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies and Social Work, presented the certificates and stoles.
The students honored at the celebration of achievement have mastered complex and diverse theories of disability. Particular emphasis is placed on promoting equality of opportunity and full access and participation in all areas of daily life, and in creatively fashioning environments to fit the full range of human variation. Students who enroll in the Interdisciplinary Disability Studies courses represent majors from all colleges, schools, and departments throughout the university and apply their learning to their individual disciplines, interests, and lives outside of the academic environment.
View the 2010 Celebration photo gallery
Read the IDS Minor Honoree Kenneth Harvey’s student address

Image Description: 2010 Disability Studies Scholars