Dr. Judy MacDonald joined Dal鈥檚 School of Social Work in 1999 as a targeted hire for a faculty member with a disability to promote disability scholarship and curriculum development.
Since then, she鈥檚 been a leading light in the quest to create a more accessible environment at Dal and beyond through her research, mentorship, advocacy, and community leadership.听
鈥淭he accessibility work I do across Dal is absolutely more than just a job,鈥� says Dr. MacDonald, who lives with chronic pain causing mobility impairment. 鈥淚t aligns with my personal and professional values, while integrating scholarship, policy development and organizational change.鈥�
This year, Dr. MacDonald is being recognized for her work as the recipient of the 2022 Legacy Award in the President鈥檚 Award for the Advancement of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) individual faculty/staff category.
鈥淛udy advocates for change that goes beyond words and moves into meaningful actions to make a difference to all who are historically underrepresented and underserved,鈥� says Dr. Brenda Merritt, dean in the Faculty of Health. 鈥淪he constantly demonstrates perseverance, tenacity, good judgement and advocacy for all members of equity-deserving communities.鈥�
Director of the School of Social Work since 2018, Dr. MacDonald is also the Assistant Dean for Equity and Inclusion in the Faculty of Health. Her commitment and dedication to advancing supports, policy, scholarship and research for the disability community is inspiring.
Recommended reading:听The path to accessibility: Inside Dal's plan to build a better campus for all
Helping student find their voice
Dr. MacDonald has a long history of excellence in national 鈥�(dis)Ability鈥� research, with significant contributions to the field through publications in research journals, book chapters, formal reports and other media. But it鈥檚 mentoring students that gives her the most satisfaction. 鈥淚 get the most joy out of听 working with disabled graduate students in promoting their own research and helping them find their voice,鈥� she says.
In fact, mentoring students is central to Dr. MacDonald鈥檚 work and promotion of EDIA across the university. She is actively engaged with students in doctoral programs and the MSW and BSW programs, and she has contributed to countless student dissertation and thesis committees as a supervisor, co-supervisor and committee member.听
鈥淛udy is caring, thoughtful and passionate in her guidance of students with disabilities who actively seek her mentorship, and she deliberately seeks opportunities to work with these students,鈥� says Dr. Merritt.
Accessibility Week
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The on Dec. 3 promotes the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. For the first time, Dal has plans for an Accessibility Week leading up to that date.听
鈥淭his is a week where we can formally recognize the impact of听 ableism on our community and promote the awareness of barriers that will then lead to institutional change,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he built environment poses听 a challenge at Dal due to our听 older infrastructure such as buildings that don鈥檛 have elevators or ramps, but even more challenging are attitudinal barriers where faculty or staff do not understand the right to accommodations or the importance of access and inclusion.鈥澨�
The rest of the year, Dr. MacDonald will continue to promote and celebrate disability on all levels 鈥� research, curriculum, rights and employment supports 鈥� but she insists she isn鈥檛 doing this work alone. 鈥淚 am privileged to work with an amazing听 group of people doing this work to break down barriers,鈥� she says. 鈥淒al is beginning to understand ableism鈥檚 impact, but we need to continue developing principles, policies and practices to guide our work to make Dal truly accessible to everyone in the future.鈥�
While you're here . . . .
Check out What It's Like,听a new web series launching for 鲍鱼tv Accessibility Week. The series provides members of the Dal community an opportunity to share their experiences living with a disability. You can find entries here, updated daily.
Find information here on how you can share your own perspective.听