Silo-Breaking: Collaborating Campus-wide To Move from Disability "Support" to Universal Design Elisa Laird-Metke, JD Director, Disability Resource Center Samuel Merritt University Elaird-metke@samuelmerritt.edu @ElisaLM @elm_of_sf Craig Elliott, PhD AVP, Enrollment and Student Services Samuel Merritt University celliott@samuelmerritt.edu @DrCraigElliott @cmedos

Ground we’ll cover: What is the Community Organizing framework? How can CO principles be applied in the university setting to break down silos and further inclusion? What are some specific strategies we can begin to shift the culture? Are these the right questions?

What is Community Organizing?

Community Organizing (defined in one sentence) “Community organizing is the process of building power through: involving a constituency in identifying: problems they share and the solutions to those problems that they desire; identifying the people and structures that can make those solutions possible; enlisting those targets in the effort through negotiation and using confrontation and pressure when needed; and building an institution that: is democratically controlled by that constituency that can develop the capacity to take on further problems and that embodies the will and the power of that constituency.” Community Organizing: People Power from the Grassroots. Dave Beckwith, with Cristina Lopez. Center for Community Change.

Community Organizing (defined in two sentences) “[C]ommunity organizing provides a way to merge various strategies for neighborhood empowerment. Organizing begins with the premise: that the problems facing inner-city communities do not result from a lack of effective solutions, but from a lack of power to implement these solutions; that the only way for communities to build long-term power is by organizing people and money around a common vision; and that a viable organization can only be achieved if a broadly based indigenous leadership — and not one or two charismatic leaders — can knit together the diverse interests of their local institutions.” Barack Obama, 1988, Illinois Issues magazine.

Community Organizing Themes: Creating power Soliciting solutions from many Identifying allies Focusing on specific goals Working with multiple groups Broadly based/ multiple leaders Creating a common vision Unifying constituencies Using multiple strategies

How do we apply these principles in the college/university setting?

Join Campus Groups Identifying allies Reach out and ask to have disability office staff (or reliable allies) invited to participate in various campus Committees. Have representation of disability office on Student Affairs leadership team. If your campus doesn’t already have a multi-disciplinary Accessibility Committee, ask to create one. Broadly based/ multiple leaders Soliciting solutions from many Creating a common vision

Notice Opportunities Join the construction planning team (or at least request to review proposed plans before they are finalized). Actively volunteer to serve or plan programs or new campus initiatives. Serve on committees outside of your “regular” functions. Find other champions! Unifying constituencies Working with multiple groups Using multiple strategies

Create Allies Share resources with other departments, staff, and faculty. Ask to present at faculty meetings, annual trainings, faculty onboarding, etc. Help faculty enhance their syllabus, course, or other educational materials for UD Partner with colleagues in the Diversity and Inclusion office to broaden diversity in programming. Focusing on specific goals Identifying allies Unifying constituencies

Partner with Students Empower students to use their voices for progress. Support them when they do. Co-sponsor student events. Conduct student focus groups and other regular assessments to reveal current issues and needs. Using multiple strategies Broadly based/ multiple leaders Soliciting solutions from many Unifying constituencies

So that’s the “what”… What about the “how”?

Four Principles of Community Organizing People are motivated by their own self-interests. CO is a dynamic process that requires constant attention and effort. Learn to deal with conflict and confrontation. Issues addressed must be chosen carefully and defined well. Issues must be “immediate, specific, and winnable.” by the Center for Community Change

Four Principles of Community Organizing People are motivated by their own self-interests. CO is a dynamic process that requires constant attention and effort. Learn to deal with conflict and confrontation. Issues addressed must be chosen carefully and defined well. Issues must be “immediate, specific, and winnable.” by the Center for Community Change

Four Principles of Community Organizing People are motivated by their own self-interests. CO is a dynamic process that requires constant attention and effort. Learn to deal with conflict and confrontation. Issues addressed must be chosen carefully and defined well. Issues must be “immediate, specific, and winnable.” by the Center for Community Change

Four Principles of Community Organizing People are motivated by their own self-interests. CO is a dynamic process that requires constant attention and effort. Learn to deal with conflict and confrontation. Issues addressed must be chosen carefully and defined well. Issues must be “immediate, specific, and winnable.” -Saul Alinski by the Center for Community Change

Barriers to Success 1. “[T]he problem is the institutional resistance by people in positions of power. Further, this resistance is based on different self-interests, not lack of knowledge by decision-makers or incompetence…” Mike Miller, Alinsky for the Left: The Politics of Community Organizing. Dissent. Winter 2010.

Barriers to Success 2. Attitudes: Medical Model Decentralized Offices Compliance Purpose 3. Lack of funding 4. Short term thinking 5. Silence

To Avoid Barriers… Give those in power To avoid these barriers: engage people in positions of power by providing not just facts and reasons supporting the need for change but also giving them reasons that it is in their own self-interest to help create the change you seek. Give those in power reasons that it is in their own self-interest to help create the change you seek...

Appealing to administrators’ self interest: Improved retention rates Mission-driven efforts Cost savings: Long term financial thinking is less expensive Enhanced campus diversity and inclusion

Final Thoughts

Frame your goals so they are immediate, specific, and winnable.

Good community organizers recognize small wins and understand that sometimes progress is incremental.

Don’t just wait for the “right” chancellor, president, VP, or Dean to automatically do the right things for access. Engage your Spheres of Influence now.

Don’t compare your school to others Don’t compare your school to others. Just start where you are, jump in, get some wins, and keep going!

Ground we covered: What is the Community Organizing framework? How can CO principles be applied in the University setting to break down silos and further inclusion? What are some specific strategies we can begin working to implement?

Thank You Elisa Laird-Metke, JD Craig Elliott PhD Director of Disability Resource Center Samuel Merritt University elairdmetke@samuelmerritt.edu @ElisaLM @elm_of_sf Craig Elliott PhD AVP Enrollment and Student Services Samuel Merritt University celliott@samuelmerritt.edu @DrCraigElliott @cmedos