Julie Lellis, an assistant professor in the School of Communications, published an article discussing the role of higher education in assuming social leadership on disability services in the international journal Disability & Society.
The research, titled “Silence on Stomping Grounds: A Case Study of Public Communication about Disability in the 1990s,” addressed several points of interest, including:
- The passage of the ADA in the United States was an attempt to position the concept of civil rights for people with disabilities in the minds of the public—to illustrate that people with disabilities are no less deserving than all citizens.
- Institutions of higher education in the United States are often common “stomping grounds” for advocacy, equality and activism, yet they were also some of the very institutions struggling to comply with ADA legislation.
- The role of public communication in shaping how disability is perceived is discussed.
In addition, Lellis also sat on the Disability Studies Discussion at Elon University Nov. 16, which was sponsored by the Office of Disabilities Services.