Disability rights pioneer to speak as part of SU’s ‘Disability and Human Rights’ series

Thursday, February 26, 2004, By News Staff

Disability rights pioneer to speak as part of SU’s ‘Disability and Human Rights’ seriesFebruary 26, 2004Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Long before she became the World Bank’s first adviser on disability and development, Judith E. Heumann was denied the right to attend public school until fourth grade. She was able to become a New York City public school teacher only after successfully suing the Board of Education. Heumann will speak at Syracuse University’s College of Law on Monday, March 1 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in Room 100 of MacNaughton Hall.

Heumann is the former assistant secretary for the U.S. government’s office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), where she managed the special education programs, the Rehabilitation Services Administration and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. She was also a pioneer in drafting legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, that recognizes the constitutional guarantee of equal access and opportunity for people with disabilities and that has led to the creation of more than 200 independent living centers nationwide.

Previous to her appointment at OSERS, Heumann was vice president of the World Institute on Disability (WID), the special assistant to the executive director of California’s State Department of Rehabilitation and the deputy director of the Center for Independent Living. At the 1995 International Conference on Disability in Mexico City, Heumann represented the Secretary of Education and she was appointed by President Bill Clinton as a delegate member to the United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing, China the same year.

Heumann holds a BA from Long Island University and an MA in public health administration from the University of California at Berkeley.

The Disability and Human Rights speaker series is sponsored by SU’s College of Law, The SPIRE committee on NGOs and Civil Society, the SU Disabilities Studies Program, the Global Affairs Institute of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the College of Law’s Center for Global Law and Practice, the Center on Human Policy, the Disability Law Society and the Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee.

The speaker series is free and open to the public. Paid visitor parking is offered on a space-available basis in the Irving and University Avenue Garages. A sign language interpreter will be available at the lecture.