Conn opens Disability Cultural Center
At the grand opening of Connecticut College’s Disability Cultural Center on April 1, advocate and educator John Sharon ’86 recalled organizing Conn’s first Disability Awareness Week more than 40 years ago.
“We put up posters, we showed movies, we held discussions, and we had about 10 students who volunteered to spend the entire week navigating the campus entirely by wheelchair,” he told the large audience of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and former faculty and staff gathered for the event in the new, bright space in Smith House.
Sharon, who was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, a rare condition that limits muscle and bone growth in the extremities, explained he didn’t come to Conn intending to become an activist—“At the time, I didn’t think much about disability or accessibility or who I was other than just an eager 18-year-old who wanted to fit in,” he said. But that all changed after a classmate studying accessibility in education asked Sharon what he thought about accessibility at Conn.
“I hadn’t really thought about it, but I started to get curious and the more I looked, the more I saw, and the more I saw, the more I realized that the campus was almost completely inaccessible for anyone who might use a wheelchair for transport, who might be deaf, who might be blind,” he said. “As I reflect back on the birth of my activism, I am convinced that the College gave me the freedom to find my voice in no small measure because the school knew deep down that we were right—the College was not a place of belonging for all kinds of bodies.”
To now be celebrating the opening of the Disability Cultural Center “is nothing short of staggering,” Sharon said.
“This is a place that will give voice and agency and power and community and intersectionality and belonging to those who for too long have had to live on the outskirts of society. … The center offers an invitation to those on the margins to come to the very center of the page and live their lives and their stories to the fullest.”
Director of Student Accessibility Services Jillian Heilman said the mission of the center is to “affirm and celebrate disability by exploring the intersectionality of identities, creating community support, advocating for disability justice and for celebrating disability as a culture.” The space features artwork created by artists with disabilities and areas for students and other members of the community to gather both formally and informally.
The grand opening event also featured a ribbon cutting; a poetry reading by Poet-in-Residence and Professor of English Kate Rushin; and remarks by President Andrea Chapdelaine, Student Accessibility Services Fellow Alex Eikinas ’26, Dean of the College and Vice President for Retention and Success Erika Smith and Executive Director of Facilities Management and Campus Planning Justin Wolfradt.
Eikinas said the center is the result of the work of a dedicated group of student advocates “who have pushed for disability justice in different areas and in different ways” across campus.
“I’m not sure how to truly express the fullness of my heart when I see students belly laughing with their current director in the space or how to convey the weight of the tears in my eyes as I watch students exploring and accepting their disability identity,” they said.
“The DCC has contributed to a massive shift in culture surrounding disability and accessibility on campus. This space serves as a symbol of institutional recognition and valuing of disability. It’s a home base for community and connection—a place where you can sit on the floor or stim without judgment. The DCC is healing to myself and the broader disabled community today.”
Chapdelaine called the center’s opening “an exciting, bold and incredibly important” moment in the College’s history that reflects “our shared commitment to inclusion, to empowerment, to giving every student the space, the place and the people that they need to thrive and be successful here.” But she also acknowledged that there is still more work to do.
“We need to continue to innovate, to advocate, to step boldly to be the kind of community we will continue to aspire to be … a place where every student, every faculty member, every staff member, every alum feels welcomed and empowered.”
Latest RSS News
- ALL IN names Eliza Macaluso ’27 to 2025 Voting Honor RollFor the third year in a row, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge as awarded a Connecticut College Camel with a place on their Voting Honor Roll. This year’s honoree is Eliza Macaluso ’27.
- 21 Conn faculty members awarded promotions, tenureAt its most recent meeting, the Connecticut College Board of Trustees approved 12 faculty promotions to full professor, seven promotions to associate professor with tenure, and two promotions to associate teaching professor.
- May in PicturesSunshine and celebrations abound.
- 154 named to NESCAC Spring All-Academic TeamThe New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) has named 154 Connecticut College student athletes, two All-America track runners, a Watson Fellowship winner and 19 members of the Women’s Rowing team, to the 2025 Spring All-Academic Team.
- Abdou-Latifou Dare ’27 wins $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grantAbdou-Latifou Dare ’27 has won a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant to promote peace through education and community building this summer. He will use the money to establish a multipurpose educational and training center called “Nour Al Bayan Wal Huda” (Lighthouse of Eloquence and Guidance), in his hometown of Bassar in the West African coastal country of Togo.
- Class of 2025 graduates told to ‘make your voices heard’Grammy- and Emmy-nominated multimedia writer and producer Maxim Langstaff ’81 told the 433 members of Connecticut College’s Class of 2025 that in trying times, his grandmother, political activist and former Conn trustee and College Medal recipient Percy Maxim Lee, would ask him a simple question: “What are you going to do about it?”
