After three years of research + preparation coupled with another year of pandemic-prompted delays, Duke plans to become 1 of just 9 universities across the country to feature a disability cultural center, senior Maddie Fowler told the Duke Chronicle in a recent interview .
“At Duke there is a lot of this idea that disability is something you need to have an accommodation for and that’s all,” Maddie said. “Disability is so much more than that — different and unique challenges that we need support for.”
Maddie currently serves as an executive board member for the Duke Disability Alliance , the organization responsible for pitching the center to Duke’s administration + seeing the project through to fruition.
The cultural center will offer meetings spaces for disability-related organizations, a study room, and a disability studies library. Social events will also be held in the center throughout the year.
It will be located in the Bryan Center — which is essentially Duke’s student union and also houses the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity + The Center for Multicultural Affairs.
As of now, the center is slated to open later this semester , pending COVID-19 conditions.
According to Maddie, the purpose of the Center is to show that disabilities are experienced every day, not on an on-and-off basis — they influence a person’s culture, experiences + overall identity. You can learn more about the Duke Disability Alliance’s work here.