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MSU recognizes Disability Pride Month in October to promote how accessibility, accommodations and awareness benefit everyone. Disability Pride Month recognizes the experiences, achievements and contributions of the disability community. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
Nationally, Disability Pride Month is celebrated annually in July to commemorate the signing into law of the Americans with Disabilities Act. At Michigan State University, Disability Pride Month is recognized in October to provide students with the opportunity to celebrate disability pride while they are on campus and able to connect with one another.
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 and contributions of disabled people while recognizing their experiences and furthering advocacy.
This month’s centerpiece event — the third annual Disability Summit — was held Oct. 2 and was hosted by the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, or RCPD, the Office for Civil Rights and ADA Coordinator and MSU Libraries. The half-day summit featured keynote speaker, disability advocate, scholar and author Sami Schalk. In previous years, the summit examined the historic and current lived experience of disability in higher education. This year, the summit shifted focus toward a future that is disability-centered.
Following the summit’s full day of programming, weekly virtual sessions, offered each Friday of October, will continue to broaden dialogue across the MSU community around the future of disability in higher education. These sessions feature Communication Access in Realtime Translation captioning and American Sign Language interpreters. Refer to the event list below for more information on these virtual sessions.
Another key recognition for this year’s Disability Pride Month is What’s Your 64?, a month-long challenge inspired by Alex’s Great State Race. For more than a decade, Alex’s Great State Race brought Michigan State University and the University of Michigan together to honor former Spartan Alex Powell and raise awareness for students with disabilities. Traditionally, ROTC cadets from both universities carried the game ball 64 miles between the two campuses before the annual MSU vs. U-M football game. Now, that tradition is evolving into a challenge that invites everyone to carry Alex’s legacy forward in their own way.
Choose it. Do it. Pass it on. Choose something meaningful to you, complete your 64 and film a short video to share your challenge. Your 64 could be 64 minutes, laps, repetitions, acts of kindness, pages or something completely your own. You don’t have to run 64 miles, be a student, athlete or ROTC cadet to participate, and there is no singular way to complete your 64. Once you’ve found yours, share it on social media, tag @run4alex and @MSURCPD, and challenge someone else to participate. Use #WhatsYour64, #AlexsGreatStateRace and #AGSR2026 to help spread the challenge and carry Alex’s legacy forward. Participation is free and donations are encouraged. Learn more about Alex’s story and the challenge at the AGSR Giving web page.
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.
Alex’s Great State Race “What’s Your 64?” Challenge
For over a decade, MSU and U-M ROTC cadets have honored Alex Powell by carrying the annual MSU vs. U-M game football 64 miles between the two campuses in the middle of the night. This year, the tradition is evolving into a new challenge that invites everyone to carry Alex’s legacy forward!
Choose your own 64, complete it and film a short video, and challenge someone else to do theirs. Your 64 can be anything: 64 minutes of something, 64 repetitions, 64 laps, 64 pages, 64 acts of kindness or something meaningful to you. The goal is participation, connection and carrying the challenge forward. Please direct any questions and submit your completed video to uhw.comms@msu.edu.
Celebrate Disability Pride Month at MSU by learning about disability studies in the Main Library lobby.
Join the MSU community for the third Annual Disability Summit, a day of learning, collaboration and dialogue focused on accessibility, belonging and innovation in higher education. This year’s theme, “The Future of Disability in Higher Education,” explores what is possible when disability perspectives are centered across teaching and learning, technology, employment and campus life. Featuring keynote speaker Sami Schalk, panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities, the summit will inspire meaningful conversations and help shape a more accessible and inclusive future at MSU. Register for in-person or virtual attendance and learn more on the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance website.
Join the Council of Students with Disabilities in Bessey Hall Room 313 for an educational night as they discuss their disability experiences. Interested members will provide 3-to-5-minute presentations about “Things we wish nondisabled people knew.” Participants will leave with a broader understanding of disability and access. All are welcome!
“Beyond Compliance: Disability Justice, Dignified Supervision and Building Workplaces Where Everyone Can Do Their Best Work” by Swapna Hingwe. Register for the Virtual Disability Summit session.
A collaborative event hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center and University Activities Board in the Multicultural Center Multipurpose Room 1015. Join for bedazzling book cover crafts, pastries from a local bakery and an opportunity to learn about the importance of reading banned books by diverse authors, including queer stories, disabled writers and authors of color! All are welcome!
Join the Council of Students with Disabilities, Tower Guard, the BOND Program, the Chronic Health Support and Awareness Group and more campus partners in STEM Room 3202 to celebrate disability pride! Drop by for a fun night of DIY crafting, community building and free food. All are welcome!
“Disability in Med School: Supporting Medical Students in the Boards Accommodations Process” by Hannah Huey-Jones, Karen Stanley-Kime, Amy Greenberg, Cara Ludlow, Jeffrey Truong and Alicia Knickerbocker. Register for the Virtual Disability Summit session.
“Embracing Slowness for Our Futures of Disability Justice” by Chloe Grigsby. Register for the Virtual Disability Summit session.
All programs and activities are open to all without restriction or preference based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, national origin or other protected identity. In recognition of Disability Pride Month, the MSU community is coming together to strengthen resources and programs supporting students with disabilities at MSU. Learn more about the Michael J. Hudson Emerging Opportunities Endowment and the What’s Your 64? challenge inspired by Alex’s Great State Race.
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