MSU recognizes Disability Pride Month with numerous programs and resources:
MSU recognizes Disability Pride Month in October to promote how accessibility, accommodations and awareness benefit everyone. Disability Pride Month recognizes the achievements, experiences and contributions of the disability community. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
In 2023, the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact, or IEI, and the University Health and Wellbeing's Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, or RCPD, established October as Disability Pride Month at Michigan State University. Nationally, Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July to commemorate the signing into law of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.
This month includes recognition for Blindness Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month and World Mental Health Day. MSU is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of people with disabilities and furthering advocacy.
The main event of this month’s recognition is the second annual Disability Summit, scheduled for Oct. 3 and organized by the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance Office of the ADA Coordinator, RCPD, MSU Libraries, the Graduate School, College of Natural Science, and the Creating Inclusive Excellence Grant. The half-day event features keynote speaker, disability advocate and author Haben Girma. In addition to networking opportunities, 200 copies of Girma’s book, “Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law,” will be available with a book signing opportunity.
This year’s in-person event will be accompanied by virtual sessions, which will be held on Fridays throughout October. There will be Communication Access in Realtime Translation captioning and American Sign Language interpreters.
An additional spotlight event includes Alex’s Great State Race on Oct. 25. Each year, on the morning of the MSU vs. University of Michigan football game, Army ROTC cadets from both universities come together to run the game ball across 64 miles of Michigan back roads and finish at the university hosting the game. The race honors the legacy of Alex Powell’s passion for MSU, joy in athletics and zest for life.
Despite his cancer diagnosis, Powell was determined to fully participate in his Spartan experience thanks to RCPD’s collaborative support with U-M’s Services for Students with Disabilities. This year, participants will cross the finish line in East Lansing. Join the event to support individuals with disabilities.
For additional information on events, stories, resources and ways to get involved, visit IEI’s Disability Pride Guide.
All events are listed in Eastern time. To add an event, email sileriog@msu.edu.
The MSU Main Library lobby will feature an Accessibility and Disabilities Studies book display.
Join MSU’s second annual Disability Summit at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. This year’s summit will be a half-day event featuring keynote speaker, disability advocate and author Haben Girma. Only virtual seats are left. RSVP
Join the Council of Students with Disabilities in celebrating Disability Pride Month at MSU with trashketball, hand-cycling, pickleball and sit volleyball at Demonstration Hall!
This Mental Health Awareness Week, attend a timely panel and keynote lecture featuring Harvard Medical School Professor Vikram Patel at this MSU Department of Psychology-partnered event. Register
Join Friday’s virtual sessions on digital accessibility tips and tricks and learn about the critical role of accommodations at MSU Libraries! Multiple sessions are available. Register
Come tour and explore the Main Library’s new Sensory Room on the first floor across from the circulation/help desk.
Watch the emotional and dramatic story of the decades-long push for equality and accessibility. This PBS screening will take place in the STEM Teaching and Learning Facility, Room 2130. More details to come! Register
Join University Health and Wellbeing in People's Park for this interactive event, promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention through student-led activities and community connection. Learn more
Join Friday’s virtual sessions on hybrid teaching, affinity spaces and addressing internalized ableism! Multiple sessions are available. Register
This Michigan Rehabilitation Services Careers Collaborative webinar explores how reimagining professionalism to include disability identities can foster more considerate and satisfying workplaces. Register
Come tour and explore the Main Library’s new Sensory Room on the first floor across from the circulation/help desk.
Follow and support this year’s race through the Alex’s Great State Race website!
Join Friday’s virtual sessions on neurodivergence, creating student-centered experiences, accessible technologies and disability research in STEM! Multiple sessions are available. Register
Join the Council of Students with Disabilities in Bessey Hall, Room 313, in your best Halloween costume for a night of fall fun and disability trivia.
Join this author panel in the Multicultural Center to commemorate the spooky season, featuring contributors from “It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror” and more! Topics include queer coding of villains in the horror genre, body diversity and disability as plot points. Copies of the book will be available.
Campus partners will be available to support faculty and staff on improving the digital accessibility of their videos and documents at the Main Library in the Beaumont Instruction Room.
Join Friday’s virtual sessions on disability research in STEM, the Transforming Theatre Ensemble, breaking barriers in graduate school and reimagining disability! Multiple sessions are available. Register
All programs and activities are open to all without restriction or preference based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, national origin or other protected identity.