MU’s Disability Center held its annual State of Accessibility and Lee Henson Access Award Ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 26 in Memorial Union.  Disability Center staff and MU community members gathered to recognize new Lee Henson Access award recipients in light of the MU’s celebration of Disability Culture Month.

The Lee Henson Access Award,  created in 2014 and named after Lee Henson, MU’s former Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator, honors individuals and groups within the Mizzou community for contributions to the improvement of accessibility at the university. Lee Henson was MU’s ADA coordinator for 20 years, and passed in August of 2013. 

During the event, each of the five award recipients chosen by the university’s Committee For Persons With Disabilities were honored for their achievements in accessibility advancement. Two were awarded to current MU students, Gabriela Ionita and Jia Wu. Another two went to MU employees: staff member Erin Jorgensen and faculty member Dr. Kerri McBee-Black.The fifth Lee Henson Access Award was a group award, received by members of Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball. 

McBee-Black, an assistant professor in MU’s Textile and Apparel Management department, conducts research regarding the crossovers of apparel and disability, working to identify and improve the barriers that constrict people with disabilities from societal apparel norms. Her interests in accessibility improvement extend into her course material, increasing accessibility awareness within the MU student body.

“I think that bringing this information into the classroom has benefitted students — they get to learn more about the needs of people with disabilities as it relates to apparel,” McBee-Black said. “My research specifically has helped bring attention to the apparel challenges that people with disabilities face, and hopefully [has] moved apparel brands and others to think about creating apparel that will work for people with disabilities.”

McBee-Black plans to continue her research in apparel improvement and development for people with disabilities, focusing on making “disability studies a reality on campus.” 

Recently McBee-Black, along with TAM associate professor Dr. Li Zhao and associate professor of Womens and Gender studies Julie Elman, received a National Endowment For the Humanities grant to further fund the development of a disability studies minor at MU.

“[The Lee Henson Access Award] means everything,” McBee Black said. “The fact that I’ve been doing this research since 2013, involving this in my class[es] to now be recognized for that work is just … absolutely the world,” 

MU’s Disability Center gave the Lee Henson Access Group Award to members of the Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball organization for their annual summer camp held in July, which is open to participants aged 12 to 19 from all over the country. Its 2023 summer camp had the largest number of registrants yet, with 50 players attending from 18 different states. 

MU students Macie McNealy, Mackinley “Mack” Reed, and Koda Inman-Ahlstrom were present to receive the award on behalf of the organization. Other recipients of this award include Daniel Clements, Tyler Marone, Eric Rodgriguez, Danny Smutz, and Peter Voskovitch.

Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball’s most recent summer camp was the first time that McNealy, MU senior and first-year occupational therapy student, had actively participated in the organization. 

“Whenever [head coach Ron Lynkins] asked this summer if I would be able to help with their camp, it was never a question of if I wanted to. I said yes immediately,” McNealy said. “Interacting with the children and just seeing them get to do something that you might not think that they’ll be able to do … it was awesome. It was a lot of fun.”

Reed, who is currently a junior at MU, held a counselor position at Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball’s 2023 summer camp. 

“I enjoy being able to give back to the university, to kids all around the nation; [to] show them that Mizzou is somewhere that they can thrive, somewhere that they can personally be accepted and feel that they’re okay as who they are in a world that isn’t built for them,” Reed said. “I think what kept me going was just seeing the kid’s faces every morning, and making sure that they are getting the best out of the camp that they can get — that they’re achieving something at the end of the week.” 

 Sheena Rice, MizzouRec’s external relations coordinator, was also present at the ceremony, having nominated the Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball team members for this award herself. 

“What’s so important about the camp too is it’s one of the opportunities for these student-athletes … to realize that they can have an independent future, that they can go to college, [and] that they can have these opportunities,” Rice said. 

Rice thanked MU Disability Center for recognizing the students involved in Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball, because “[the] camp could not have happened without them.” 

Prior to the awards portion of the ceremony, MU Disability Center staff members discussed the state of accessibility at MU in the past year. 

Amber Cheek, Director of Accessibility and ADA coordinator at MU, informed attendees about plans to improve ADA parking by redistributing parking spots to places where they may be better used. Cheek also highlighted a review conducted on campus accessibility restrooms, and mentioned the addition of staff member and MU alum Ellie Stitzer, the newly appointed Accessibility and ADA manager. 

Ashley Brickley, the director of student affairs within MU’s Disability center, discussed the addition of new advisors to their staff, additional exam locations for disability student testing and the launch of a peer mentoring program. 

“We were hearing from students that they really wanted to build a community,” Brickley said. “They wanted to connect with other disabled students … We think it’s a great way for us to look at that sense of belonging and be supporting students holistically.” 

Additionally, Adaptive Computing Technology Center supervisor Abby O’Sullivan,  discussed the functionality and goals of ACT at MU. The ACT center focuses on providing accessible services and programs for all university students, staff and faculty to utilize, improving technological accessibility at MU.

The State of Accessibility and Lee Henson Access Award Ceremony was the second-to-last event held for the celebration of Disability Culture month at MU, the final being a Student Organization Accessibility panel held on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m. For more information about Disability Center events and resources, visit https://disabilitycenter.missouri.edu/. 

Copy edited by Grace Knight and Audrey Dae Bush