Disability Affinity Resource Group

Welcome to the WFU Disability Affinity Resource Group! We are here to provide support and advocacy for Wake Forest faculty and staff with disabilities and chronic illnesses and to ensure that disability and related identities are fully included in Wake Forest University’s community. We regularly conduct outreach and liaise with departments and offices on campus in order to represent the interests of faculty and staff with disabilities. We also contribute suggestions and information to a new Physical Accessibility website that shares Wake resources related to campus accessibility. 

Along with our advocacy and outreach activities, we partner with other WFU groups to sponsor events relating to issues of disability and run a monthly online support group for faculty and staff with disabilities and chronic illnesses, caregivers of disabled or chronically ill individuals, allies, and any member of the WFU community who is interested in learning more about disability, chronic illness, accessibility, and allyship.

All interested WFU employees are welcome!

Want to learn more or join the Disability Affinity Resource Group Google Group to receive updates on all events and information? Please contact Elena at clarkep@wfu.edu or Eudora at strublej@wfu.edu or fill out this form.

Interested in attending a support group meeting and building community with us? Virtual meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month, 4-5 pm. Fill out the ARG interest form to be added to emails and calendar invites for our events.

Looking for information about accessibility and accommodations at WFU? Check out the accessibility website. There are links to relevant information from Transportation and Parking Services, HR (for employee accommodation requests), and CLASS (for student accommodation requests) on the Physical Accessibility Resources page.

Disability Champions

The Wake Forest Disability Affinity Resource Group is delighted to announce the Disability Champion Awards. These awards, given annually, are intended to highlight exceptional contributions and service to the disability community by members of the Wake Forest campus. If you would like to nominate a WFU community member for this award, please contact us at clarkep@wfu.edu or strublej@wfu.edu with the name, position, and a brief description of the disability-related work of the colleague you are nominating. Please submit all nominations by April 30.

The 2024 award recipients are:

  • The Athletics Administration, for providing captions for their events and content
  • The Department of German and Russian, for improving the accessibility of their website and social media as their RIDE goal
  • The Of The Times Exhibit Team (Mark H. Reece Art Collection), for working to enhance exhibit accessibility (The Disability ARG wishes to make special note of the work of WFU undergrad and art intern Anne Jones on the exhibit, and for her commitment to disability inclusion and the accessibility of art to our community.)
  • The School of Law IT team, for their commitment to improve accessibility and access for existing students
  • Michaela Appeltova, Department of History, for organizing a film screening and panel on disability issues
  • Pete Nowak, UMC, for improving accessibility of WFU websites through content manager education
  • The WordPress Web Development Team (Advancement and UMC), for ongoing dedication to enhancing the accessibility of Wake’s web platform and commitment to accessible web development and content

We extend our heartfelt thanks and congratulations to our awardees, all of whom have demonstrated a sincere commitment to diversity, inclusion, and pro humanitate in their work at Wake Forest. Through their actions, they have made WFU a more welcoming and inclusive environment for faculty, staff, and students alike. We are proud to have such exceptional colleagues and look forward to continuing our partnership with them.

Group Chairs

Eudora Struble is staff chair of the Disability Affinity Resource Group and, with Elena Clark, co-founded the Support Group for Faculty and Staff with Disabilities in 2021. Eudora serves within Information Systems as the Director for Technology Accessibility, facilitating engagement to make our vibrant digital environment more accessible and inclusive for the campus community. Eudora earned a BA in Anthropology from the University of Colorado-Boulder and an MA in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago. She was born and raised in rural western Colorado and has a deep love for the outdoors and animals of all sorts. Eudora enjoys DIY house projects, relaxing with her three cats, naps, and anything related to superheroes or speculative fiction. 

Elena Pedigo Clark is faculty chair of the Disability Affinity Resource Group and the Support Group for Faculty and Staff with Disabilities, which she co-founded with Eudora Struble. She is also Assistant Professor of Russian in the Department of German and Russian. A long-time NC resident, she received her BA from UNC-Charlotte, her MA from Columbia University, and her PhD from UNC-Chapel Hill. When she’s not teaching, researching, or doing advocacy work for the disability and chronic illness community, she enjoys gardening, writing fiction, and taking care of her menagerie of furry pets.

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