 How welcoming is your department to faculty members who have disabilities? Hello, I'm Cheryl Burgstahler, the Director of the Duet Center and the Access Advance Project. Today I'll share some tips for making STEM departments more inclusive of faculty with disabilities. Application pools for faculty positions have become increasingly diverse. Yet some applicants and employees with disabilities encounter challenges that occur during the employment application process and after they're hired. Barriers include those related to facilities, meetings, courses, digital documents, services, and online resources. Imagine a person who's blind discovering that they cannot access digital job application forms with a screen reader. Imagine a professor who cannot hear when microphones are not used during a large meeting. Imagine an instructor with health-related disabilities who fears that requesting accommodation may affect their chances for earning tenure. Campus leaders should adjust institutional and departmental policies and procedures to ensure that they reflect an inclusive culture. Answering the following questions can help you get started. Is the physical environment accessible, comfortable, and safe for individuals with a range of abilities? Are support staff prepared to work with faculty who have disabilities? Deflexible policies allow individuals to attend meetings and work remotely. Is it clear to faculty how to request disability-related accommodations? And is there guidance in choosing assistive technology? Are accommodations provided and funding through a central institutional unit? Thus avoiding the appearance that individual faculty members with disabilities are a financial burden to the department. Are disability-related issues addressed in all campus and departmental diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives? Taking steps in response to questions like these can also benefit faculty who do not disclose disabilities. Find additional considerations in our publication Equal Access, making STEM departments more accessible to and inclusive of faculty with disabilities. It's at uw.edu slash do-it slash programs slash advance. Remember that disability is simply one aspect of diversity. Increasing the participation of people with disabilities among STEM faculty strengthens these fields with their unique perspectives and expertise. Access Advance is led by the University of Washington and North Dakota State University and supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number HRD 2017017 and 2017054. Any opinions or recommendations in these materials do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Copyright 2022, University of Washington. Permission is granted to use these materials for educational non-commercial purposes provided the source is acknowledged.