At the Office of Disability Services, we value disability as yet another component of the incredible diversity found on our campus. Here, students, faculty, and staff can find information and resources to help achieve success at Rutgers.
Rutgers Disability Awareness Month
A Campus-Wide Celebration
Rutgers University is one of the most diverse institutions in the Big 10. Every October, we celebrate Disability Awareness Month, recognizing the vital role disabilities play in shaping our vibrant, inclusive community. Discover resources and actions to support accessibility, and learn how you can keep the conversation going all year long.
Resources and Action
Disability takes many forms, both apparent and non-apparent. Disability Awareness Month at Rutgers is an opportunity for our community to recognize, bring awareness to, and learn about disabilities and the disability community.
The Disability Studies minor is an interdisciplinary Rutgers–New Brunswick collaboration designed to support an intrinsically interdisciplinary approach to studying the lived experience of disability and the theoretical frameworks that surround that experience.
Rutgers is a global leader in disability and employment research. Learn more about the Program for Disability Research in the School of Management and Labor Relations.
As an ally, you can take action and help cultivate an awareness of creating an inclusive environment for all individuals. Check out the Rutgers University Libraries' Books We Read blog series featuring books that highlight disability-related topics and written by authors with disabilities.
We're proud to be an Aira Access Partner, providing free around-the-clock, person-to-person visual interpreting services to anyone throughout the Rutgers–New Brunswick campuses. Students, staff, faculty, or visitors can use Aira for free on a smartphone simply by downloading the Aira app and connecting with an agent.
Telling Our Stories
The PASE program will prepare experienced special education teachers to become qualified leaders who oversee special education services in districts, early-intervention programs, charter, private and parochial school networks, and state education agencies.
Two years ago, student veteran Nadia Elieff was struggling to find ways to alleviate her PTSD until she attended a panel on service dogs and discovered she qualified for such help.
Josh Langberg received a $3.2 million National Institute of Mental Health grant to explore how virtual reality can help college students with ADHD minimize distractions and stay focused.
Looking Back at Disability Awareness Month
Disability Awareness Month is packed with in-person programs and virtual events. Each year, participants learn how to be allies, meet new furry friends, get active with adaptive sports, and more.
Beyond the Field
Rutgers hosted its first Blind and Adaptive Sports Day in 2017 aimed at showcasing abilities, opportunities, and educating the community about sports for people with disabilities. Since then, the event has grown into a campus-wide effort to raise awareness about disability, access, and inclusion—on and off the field.
Thank You
A special thank you to our 2025 committee, sponsors, partners, and program participants for helping us commemorate the many contributions and experiences of people living with disabilities here at Rutgers.
Special thanks go to the School of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Education for their generous donation. Thank you for believing in our mission.
Active Planning Committee Members
Christine Anderson • Braily Bernaber • Shannon Carratura • Barbara Cepeda • Caroline Coffield • Jennifer Demby • Raven Diaz • Paul Goobic • Crystal Greenhow • Nikhil Kishore • Kathy Loder-Murphy • Bret McCandless • Nychey Michel • Nadia Montgomery • Kevin Orcell • Javier Robles • Lisa Rossman-Murphy • Julia Sass Rubin • Natalie Schultz-Kahwaty • Jennifer Senick • Lauren Shallish • Gita Sharma • Cynthia Simon • Owen Taylor • Jakora Thomspon • Ayanna Towers • Brandon Truett • Nadine Venturin-Trinadade • Sherlock Washington
Sponsors
Association of Blind Athletes of New Jersey • Blind Athletes Inc. • Canine Companions • Center for Race and Politics in America • Children’s Lightning Wheels • Community Dance Education Programs • Community Grant from the Parkinson’s Foundation • Department of Kinesiology and Health • Department of Political Science • Disability Justice Coalition • Disability Studies Minor • GiGi's Playhouse • Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology • IDEA Innovation Grant • Mason Gross Rutgers Integrated Dance Collaboratory (IDC) • Mason Gross School of the Arts, Dance Department • Move4More • New Jersey Lightning Beep Baseball Team • New Jersey Travel Independence Program at Rutgers University • Office of Disability Services • Pinelands Preservation Alliance • Rutgers Business School • Rutgers Center for Adult Autism • Rutgers Disability Awareness Month Committee • Rutgers Honors College • Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research • Rutgers Recreation Center for Disability, Sports, Health and Wellness • Rutgers Recreation, Student Affairs, Rutgers–New Brunswick • Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy • Rutgers University–Newark • Rutgers University and New Jersey Association of People Supporting Employment First • Rutgers University New Jersey State Policy Lab • Rutgers University Libraries • School of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Education • The Boggs Center on Disability and Human Development • The Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities • The Kenneth Aidekman Family Foundation • The Rutgers Neurodiversity Task Force • The Seeing Eye, Inc. • University Online Education Services • Urban Education, Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers–Newark • Wheelchair Federation US • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies • Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University
Program Partners
The Boggs Center on Disability and Human Development • The Center for Urban Policy Research • Department of Kinesiology and Health • Move4More • Mason Gross School of the Arts, Dance Department • New Jersey Travel Independence Program at Rutgers University • Office of Disability Services • Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research • Rutgers Recreation, Student Affairs, Rutgers–New Brunswick • Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy • P3 Collaboratory • Rutgers Business School • Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services • Rutgers University School of Social Work • Rutgers University Residence Life Student Support • Rutgers University Career Exploration and Success • Tyler Clementi Center • Urban Education • Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University