USF Sarasota-Manatee hosts panel discussion for local professionals with disabilities

 

SARASOTA, FL (November 28, 2006) – On Friday, December 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee will host Professionals with Disabilities: A Panel Discussion.

 

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Selby Auditorium at the new USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Center.

 

Event organizers have invited professionals from the local community – to demonstrate and discuss how accommodations, technology, and personal drive have enabled them to be successful, despite their disabilities.

 

The panelists include:

• Emilie Morgan, Assistant Public Defender, who is visually impaired;

• Chris Wagner, Executive Director of the Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, who is profoundly deaf;

• Charlene Borkus, Exceptional Student Education Teacher at Blackburn Elementary Severely Emotionally Disturbed Unit, who has a visual impairment;

• Wendy Williams, Education and Employment Specialist, who has Cerebral Palsy; and

• Arnold Stark, Ph.D., Educational Director of the Academic Achievement Center in Seffner, Florida, who has learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

 

“This event is an opportunity for students, faculty and community members to have an open dialog with professionals who have experienced the challenges and triumphs related to their specific disability,” said Pat Lakey Coordinator of Disabilities and Diversity.

The event will be an open discussion forum for faculty, staff, students, and community members.  Attendees will include the Pace Center for Girls and the Westcoast School for Human Development.  Tours of the new USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Center will be given after the event.

 

The event is organized by the USF Office of Academic Support and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities. That department’s mission is to honor the University's commitment to diversity through careful, diligent, respectful services for USF students with disabilities. Some of the accommodations available for USF Sarasota-Manatee students include books on tape, sign language interpreters, and collaborations with agencies outside the university.

 

For more information about this event or Disabilities and Diversity at USF Sarasota-Manatee, contact Pat Lakey, Disabilities and Diversity Coordinator at (941) 359-4714 or plakey@sar.usf.edu.

 

USF Sarasota-Manatee is an upper-level campus for those with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree who are interested in getting a baccalaureate or master’s degree, professional certification, or continuing education credit. The regional USF campus offers the prestige of a national Research 1 university with the convenience of a hometown campus, including classes in south Sarasota County at our Manatee Community College Venice site.