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.”
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