Welcome to Disability at Duke, a website organizing student and faculty efforts for disability justice and pedagogy.

The Duke Disability Alliance (DDA), founded by Megan Barron in 2011 with the “Accessibility Matters” campaign, is a student organization whose mission is to make Duke more inclusive and accessible by fostering conversations about disability issues, expanding accessibility on campus and in the community, encouraging positive perceptions and full appreciations of people with disabilities, and promoting their legal rights. We strive to engage the entire Duke community to make Duke a better place for those with and without disabilities.

Our advocacy goals include:

1) Improving physical accessibility on campus so that students with disabilities can participate fully and equally, and creating accessible maps of the interiors of campus buildings,

2) Working with faculty to promote accessible learning and cultivate better conditions for neurodiversity in higher ed,

3) Instituting American Sign Language courses that count toward language requirements,

4) Supporting opportunities for students to pursue coursework in disability studies through the creation of a Disability Studies and Health Humanities curricular program. Click here to see our Curriculum Survey Summary!

As of Fall of 2021, Duke Disability Alliance celebrates the opening of their new Disability Cultural Center! Located in Bryan Center 033, this community space is an important step toward promoting disability visibility and culture on campus. The DCC provides meeting space for disability-related student groups, features artwork by students and local disabled artists, and has a disability studies bookshelf.

To get involved, contact dukedisabilityalliance@duke.edu.