SUNY Potsdam 2026 DEI Symposium

From Compliance to Culture: Digital Accessibility in Higher Education PART A

Presented by Jay Harwood and Jess Sniatecki, SUNY Brockport

The 2024 updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act have spurred a sense of urgency in higher education as public colleges and universities around the country grapple with how to meet the required web accessibility standards. This renewed attention also presents a meaningful opportunity for institutions to reflect and revitalize the culture around accessibility and universal design in their digital campus spaces to create more inclusive learning experiences for all students. This interactive, 90-minute presentation will encourage participants to examine how disability, ableism, and digital accessibility intersect in higher education, highlighting student perspectives and the growing number of college students with disabilities across SUNY. Participants will explore their own digital learning environments and accessibility practices, with an emphasis on fostering progress toward institutional compliance, universal design, and cultural change around digital accessibility.

The topics that will be covered in this workshop are:

• Disability and ableism in higher education (5 minutes) 
• Perspectives of college students with disabilities (10 minutes) 
• ADA Title II, UDL, and cultural change (30 minutes with discussion/questions) 
• Common digital barriers, POUR principles, and accessibility practices (15 minutes) 
• Getting started and sustaining momentum across SUNY (15 minutes) 
• Discussion and questions (15 minutes)

Taking a Look at Invisible Disabilities: Neurodiversity and Accessibility Across Campus

Presented by Megan Riedl, SUNY Canton

Higher education environments are increasingly recognizing that diversity encompasses not only visible identity dimensions, but also neurological and invisible variations. This interactive workshop explores the concepts of neurodiversity and invisible disabilities, moving beyond compliance-based accommodations toward a culture of authentic inclusion and universal access.

Participants will examine how institutional structures, classroom environments, and workplace norms impact neurodivergent individuals—including those with autism, ADHD, learning differences, and non-apparent health conditions. Through interactive discussion, case scenarios, and practical framework mapping, attendees will gain actionable strategies to foster accessible, supportive, and strengths-focused environments across campus.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this 90-minute workshop, participants will be able to: 

• Reframe Neurodiversity & Invisible Disabilities: Articulate the social model of disability and how non-apparent neurological differences shape teaching, learning, and workplace dynamics.
• Identify Campus Barriers: Recognize common environmental, institutional, and interpersonal friction points that negatively impact neurodivergent students and staff.
• Apply Universal Design Principles: Develop at least two practical, proactive strategies to integrate universal design and flexible practices into their immediate role (e.g., course design, advising, supervision, or meeting structures).
• Cultivate Inclusive Advocacy: Formulate actionable steps to move beyond basic accommodation compliance toward sustained, supportive advocacy across campus.

Building Capacity for Equity One Thoughtful Habit at a Time 

Presented by John Draeger, SUNY Buffalo

The session would invite participants to reflect on their daily habits that help (or hinder) their equitable treatment of others. It is one thing to endorse the importance of equity in the abstract, but it is another to cultivate concrete habits that promote fair and respectful treatment in the classroom, across campus, and in the public sphere. Through a series of hands-on activities, participants will develop their own individual equity habit inventory and develop a plan to practice habit refinements long after the session is over.

[Optional] From Compliance to Culture: Digital Accessibility in Higher Education PART B

Presented by Jay Harwood and Jess Sniatecki, SUNY Brockport

Small Group Practical Skills Workshop 

Join facilitators Jay Harwood and Jess Sniatecki for a hands-on, practical skills workshop designed to help you gain confidence with digital accessibility basics in a supportive small-group setting. With a dedicated facilitator at every table you can pick which tables you want to strengthen your skills at and circulate around the tables at your own speed. You will receive step-by-step guidance on utilizing the following: 

• Microsoft Accessibility Checker 
• Brightspace Accessibility Checker 
• Canva Accessibility Checker 
• Adobe Accessibility Checker 
• Social Media Accessibility 
• Alternative Text/Complex Images 
• Document Structures 
• Meaningful Hyperlinks 
• Tables/Table Headers 
• Captions/Transcripts

Your personal laptop is recommended for this workshop.

Luncheon Keynote Address

Presented by Dr. Charles Welch, President and CEO of AASCU.

Please check back for Keynote Address description.

Understanding the Role of the U.S. Supreme Court in Shaping Citizens’ Rights  

Presented by Allen Grove, Syracuse University

The U.S. Supreme Court has recently taken on what often feels like an outsized importance in defining the scope of what many see as fundamental rights for individuals. This presentation will focus on the role of the Court in recent high impact cases involving such matters and will examine how the justices’ views of the Constitution directly impact the evolution of citizens’ rights.

Understanding Needs of Students with Disabilities 

Student Panel Facilitated by Jessica Burnett and Jacob Hammond, Office of Accommodative Services

Please join our panel discussion hosted by the Openness, Accessibility, Community (OAC) initiative. We will discuss topics ranging from syllabus design and accessible course materials to “invisible barriers” and what faculty and others, including peers, can do to support students with disabilities at SUNY Potsdam. Attendees can expect to leave the discussion with ideas they can implement immediately!

Bridges, Gaps, and Barriers to Educating our Students: The LGBTQ Student Experience 

Presented by Jen Ball, Clarkson University

This workshop will review current issues LGBTQ student face in navigating their higher education with a focus on classrooms and faculty mentorship.

The goal of the workshop is to review your own class room and mentorship practices and give participants at least one action item to develop in the coming academic year.

Topics explored will be developing a student-ready approach to instruction, utilizing dialogue in an asset-based student identity model, developing belonging in the classroom.

Student Success Through Inclusion & Equity: Discernment, Detachment & Self-Evaluation 

Presented by Hettie Barnhill, Create a Space NOW

Student Success Through Inclusion & Equity: Discernment, Detachment & Self-Evaluation is an interactive lecture and movement-based workshop inspired by the philosophy and legacy of pioneering dancer, anthropologist, educator, and activist Katherine Dunham.

Drawing from three principles central to Dunham's philosophy- discernment, detachment, and self-evaluation- this workshop asks educators, administrators, artists, and community leaders to consider how these practices can help us create more inclusive, equitable, and student-centered learning environments.

How do we create spaces where students do more than simply receive information? How do we encourage them to question, investigate, explore, and develop agency over their own learning? And how do educators continually examine the environments we create, the authority we hold, and the ways our own perspectives influence those we teach?

Through facilitated discussion, reflection, and accessible movement exercises, participants will explore these three principles as practical tools for teaching and leadership.

Discernment - Participants will consider how we teach students to observe, question, investigate, and make informed choices rather than simply accepting information as it is presented. Discernment also asks educators to recognize the individual needs, identities, experiences, and ways of learning that students bring into a space.

Detachment - Participants will explore the importance of creating room for students to develop ideas, identities, and approaches that may differ from our own. Detachment challenges educators to examine when our own expectations, assumptions, or authority may unintentionally limit exploration and student agency. 

Self-Evaluation - Inclusive education requires an ongoing willingness to examine ourselves. Participants will be invited to consider their own teaching practices, biases, habits, successes, and areas for growth while asking: What does the environment I create communicate to the people entering it? Who is able to thrive here, and who may still be struggling to find belonging?

Movement as a Tool for Reflection

This workshop is part lecture, part conversation, and part invited movement experience.

Movement will be used as another language through which participants can investigate discernment, detachment, self-evaluation, agency, space, and relationship. Rather than only discussing these ideas intellectually, participants will have opportunities to experience them physically and consider how our bodies respond to instruction, choice, restriction, observation, collaboration, and freedom.

The movement component is designed for all bodies, abilities, backgrounds, and levels of movement experience. No previous dance training is necessary, and participants will always have agency over their level of participation.

The goal is not to teach participants how to dance. Instead, movement becomes a method of inquiry, allowing participants to experience the difference between being told what to do and being given the tools, trust, and space to discover.

Connection to Student Success, Inclusion & Equity

For students to thrive, inclusion must extend beyond simply being invited into a room. Students need environments where they feel empowered to participate, question, investigate, take risks, make choices, and recognize themselves as active contributors to their education.

Through Dunham's philosophies, this workshop encourages educators to consider how we can shift from simply delivering knowledge toward creating environments that inspire students to seek knowledge.

Participants will leave considering a central question: How can we create educational spaces where students are not only included, but are empowered to develop agency, curiosity, critical thought, and ownership of their own learning?

Participant Needs

All movement and dance experience levels are welcome. No previous movement training is required.

Participants should wear comfortable clothing that allows them to move freely.

No special dance attire is required. Shoes are not required for the movement portion of the workshop, although participants may remain in comfortable footwear if preferred or needed for accessibility.

Rural Student Initiative (Workshop Title Pending)

Presented by Susan Perkins, Provost

Check back for workshop description.

Equity, Belonging & the Land We Share: Reckoning with the Past, Reimagining the Future 

Presented by Tamara Jolly, Adirondack Diversity Initiative

The North Country holds a unique and complex history that demands honesty. In this workshop, participants are invited into a grounded, courageous conversation rooted in an original piece written by Adirondack Diversity Initiative staff. From the Indigenous peoples who stewarded this land to the college students from historically marginalized communities navigating institutions not always built for them, we will explore what it means to truly reckon with the past, and what it looks like to create spaces where every student can belong, thrive, and see themselves reflected in the region they call home. We invite participants to slow down, listen deeply, and engage honestly in a conversation exploring what it means to face history in order to reimagine an equitable future.

Utilizing Data Presented (Workshop Title Pending)

Presented by Judy Singh and Matt LeBire

Please check back for workshop description.

Inclusive Practice in Shifting Landscape 

Presented by Usama Shaikh, SUNY Stony Brook 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work in higher education is undergoing significant change shaped by shifting policy environments, legal developments, and evolving campus climates. This workshop offers faculty and staff a grounded, practical space to understand this evolving context and to walk away with concrete strategies for supporting students, colleagues, and campus community members from all backgrounds and identities, regardless of how institutional language or frameworks shift.

Luncheon Keynote Address

Presented by Dr. Christa Grant, Interim Senior Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at SUNY, System Administration

Please check back for Keynote Address description.

Removing Barriers and Building Connections through Exchanging Stories 

Facilitated by Meghan Delsite Coleman 

Empathy, communication, and trust are essential elements of strong relationships and positive learning environments. During this session, attendees will participate in a Story Exchange, a powerful experience that builds trust, deepens understanding, and inspires action. Through sharing and retelling one another’s stories, participants will learn how they can implement the tool in their classrooms or functional areas to create an environment focused on belonging, empathy, and respect. 

Learning Outcomes: 

• Participants will be able to practice active listening and retell their partner's story from the first-person perspective. 
• Participants will learn the process to implement a Story Exchange in their classroom or functional area. 
• Participants will describe their role in creating an environment focused on belonging, empathy, and/or respect.

Being Trauma Informed: Practicing Cultural Safety in the Classroom 

Presented by Katrina Herne, Seven Dancers Coalition

Taking a look at what makes a classroom culturally safe for the Indigenous perspective. We will also be talking about how to be a good ally, the importance of culture, the Indigenous experience, culturally appropriate resources as well as how to support and build good relationships with your Indigenous students. We will also have a question-and-answer period for you to bring your questions, concerns or past experiences.