Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Leading Disability Studies Scholars to Join Burton Blatt Institute

Tuesday, November 6, 2018, By News Staff
Share
Burton Blatt Institute

The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI), housed in Syracuse University’s College of Law, today announced that two leading disability studies scholars have joined the institute and will be charged with launching a new initiative, known as Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach. Steve Kuusisto, University Professor, and Diane Wiener, currently the director of the Disability Cultural Center, will join BBI as the director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach, and research professor and associate director, respectively.

Diane Wiener, with a portrait of Burton Blatt

Diane Wiener, with a portrait of Burton Blatt

“The College of Law is proud of the Burton Blatt Institute’s long tradition of advancing the civic, economic and social participation of people with disabilities,” says Craig Boise, dean of the College of Law. “The addition of these two experts to BBI’s team will enhance the incredible work being done at the institute and the strength of the innovative research occurring there. I am confident Steve and Diane are the right team to stand up this important initiative designed to enhance our interdisciplinary productivity and community outreach.”

The new Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach will create and advance interdisciplinary, intersectional educational programs, research and pedagogy focused on disability justice, identities, cultures and studies. The office will also engage with a wide array of University constituents to interface, network and collaborate with local, regional, national and global partners, and pursue development and advancement opportunities that underscore, celebrate and enhance the rich and nuanced experiences of disabled people. Disabled students, faculty, staff and alumni—including the significant experience and contributions of veterans—will be at the heart of this initiative.

“Though they’ve been longtime partners of BBI, we are excited to formally welcome Steve and Diane as members of our team,” says Peter Blanck, University Professor and chair of BBI. “Syracuse University is fortunate to have such accomplished leaders in the field of disabilities studies, and we are grateful their collective expertise, talent and experience will be deployed in this new, cutting-edge initiative.”

Stephen Kuusisto

Stephen Kuusisto

Kuusisto is the author of the memoirs “Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet’s Journey” (Simon & Schuster, 2018); “Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening” (W.W. Norton & Co., 2006); and “Planet of the Blind: A Memoir” (Random House, 1997); and of the poetry collections “Letters to Borges” (Copper Canyon Press, 2013) and “Only Bread, Only Light” (Copper Canyon Press, 2000). A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and a Fulbright Scholar, he has taught at the University of Iowa, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Ohio State University. He is currently a professor of disability studies in the School of Education and previously served as director of The Renée Crown University Honors Program. He is a frequent speaker in the United States and abroad.

“Disability is everywhere, once you learn to search for it,” says Kuusisto. “From architecture to music, information and communication technologies to inclusive pedagogies, the age of critical thinking and innovation with respect to different bodies, minds and emotions is really upon us. We’re looking forward to moving disability into a central place of discussion and imaginative engagement with this new and exciting opportunity.”

Wiener joined Syracuse University in 2011 and currently serves as the director of the Disability Cultural Center. She has extensive experience in teaching, group facilitation, advising and mentoring, as well as in program development and management, leadership, counseling, disability advocacy, assessment and supervision. Wiener has worked closely with people with disabilities/disabled people in non-therapeutic and therapeutic contexts in accordance with sociocultural models of disability.

Co-chair of the University’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion and a member of the Contemplative Collaborative, Wiener has published widely on subjects related to diversity, social justice, inclusion, pedagogy and empowerment, with attention paid in particular to interdisciplinarity, cross-disabilities perspectives and the Mad Pride movement. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona, majoring in comparative cultural and literary studies and minoring in anthropology. Wiener has a postgraduate certificate in medical anthropology, also from the University of Arizona. She received a B.S. from Rutgers University and an M.S.W. from Yeshiva University.

Wiener’s first full-length poetry collection, “The Golem Verses,” was published in summer 2018 by Nine Mile Press.

“After having served for seven years as the founding director of our Disability Cultural Center, I am honored, delighted and grateful to begin this new chapter in my career at and devotion to Syracuse University, underscoring, as always, the lived experience and expertise of disabled constituents who study, live and work in our campus community and beyond,” says Wiener.

As Wiener moves into her new role at the BBI, a national search to identify the next director of the Disability Cultural Center will commence in the coming weeks.

About Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York state, with a global footprint, and nearly 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience. The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, visit syracuse.edu.

About the Burton Blatt Institute
BBI reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities, with offices in Syracuse, NY, New York City, Washington, D.C., Lexington, Kentucky, and Atlanta, GA. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar, to better the lives of people with disabilities. For more information about BBI, visit: bbi.syr.edu.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Languages Unlock Opportunities for English for Lawyers Alumna
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Hope Alvarez
  • Fall 2023 Career Week: Helping Students Achieve Professional Goals
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Gabrielle Lake
  • A Commitment to Arts and Sciences Excellence
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Dan Bernardi
  • Center for Sustainable Community Solutions and Environmental Finance Center Announces New Director
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Alex Dunbar
  • Expert Available to Discuss Rupert Murdoch Stepping Down at Fox News
    Thursday, September 21, 2023, By Vanessa Marquette

More In Campus & Community

Fall 2023 Career Week: Helping Students Achieve Professional Goals

“It’s never too early to begin taking action to achieve your unique professional goals,” is advice frequently shared by school, college and unit career teams in partnership with Syracuse University Career Services. Supporting students within their unique trajectory to career…

The State of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at Syracuse University With Mary Grace Almandrez

As the University’s vice president for diversity and inclusion, Mary Grace Almandrez was paying close attention to the Supreme Court rulings that were issued towards the end of the court’s term in June. In particular, Almandrez and her Office of…

A Commitment to Arts and Sciences Excellence

A welcoming community where students of varying backgrounds thrive. An infrastructure that nurtures top-tier research and academics. These are two cornerstones of the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) experience. Over the past six years, A&S has shown important strides…

Study Abroad and the Academic Experience

Sophie Creager-Roberts ’24 is a senior double major in environment, sustainability and policy and history in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs with a minor in atrocity studies and the practices of social justice in the School of…

High School Students Gain Real-World Experience During the Summer Internship Program

When you put the Syracuse City School District (SCSD), Syracuse University and CNY Works together, one word comes to mind: future. A partnership between the three has sparked learning and opportunity across the five city high schools. Through the Syracuse…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.