Another question on this board got me thinking about this and it's something I've been curious about for a while. I'm asking because I have a disability - actually various physical disabilities resulting from a brain injury - and I am in graduate school. I'm considering getting a PhD after I get my Master's. I am just curious what people with disabilities go through when they decide to become professors and I'd also like to hear from students who've had a professor with a disability. What was your experience like? Thanks guys!
2007-09-14 14:01:08 · 28 answers · asked by starfishblues 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ People with Disabilities
I graduated from university 30 years ago and I had a blind sociology professor. I know of another science prof who had either MS or CP, can't remember which now.
And of course there is the reknowned Dr. Stephen Hawkings who I believe still is a university researcher and possibly a professor emeritus.
Go for it , it may be still hard to convince universities or colleges that disabled people can teach but then disabled people can do many things regular society hasn't grasped yet. One day they will.
2007-09-15 02:40:38 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh yes, I had a Professor in College who had MS. He was an MD and taught my class in Drug Abuse Among The Aging Population. This man is nationally known today as a specialist on the topic.
We had lunch together one day because we were both disabled and could not do all of the walking involved to get to the Cafeteria, so we both brought lunch, unbeknownst to the other. It was a wonderful time of indepth learning and conversation. I still send him e-mails for his birthday and Christmas and he reciprocates.
2007-09-16 02:29:51 · answer #2 · answered by Cranky 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a young woman just graduated medical school at UCLA that lost some limbs and had a difficult time getting a residency.
There is a professor in Colorado who is Autistic. Her first name, I believe is Templeton...
A good place to research would be Galudette College (the National School for the Deaf)
2007-09-16 00:04:53 · answer #3 · answered by knittinmama 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, my business professor. He had a disability with his legs. Oh and before that he was a lawyer, but later became a professor. He constantly had to take breaks and sat down to teach class, but he explained his disability to us and we respected him even more than some other professors! He was a great professor and was very lenient, yet his class was very educational. Don't let your disability stop you from getting your PhD. I wish you the best of luck and I am very sorry to hear about your disability. Please accept my deepest sympathies.â¥
2007-09-14 21:15:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My favorite professor in college had ADD and was also hard of hearing.
John Silber, the former president of Boston University, has a deformed arm.
That's all I can think of for college professors, but I also had an amazing high school history teacher who was legally blind.
2007-09-15 11:42:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had professors with disabilities when I went to College, and since then I have known several who were teaching in college and serving as consultants in various capacities. Some of them aquired their disabilities later in life and went back to school to become professors because they had to change careers.
2007-09-14 21:25:05 · answer #6 · answered by rofe 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I have had and known many professors with disabilities.
Professors go thru the same access issues, prejudicial stigma that the students do. But every disabled prof I have know has been exceptional at teaching and interacting with students.
2007-09-14 22:28:04 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have a blind psych teacher. He's brilliant though and everyone really respects him. He has a TA for taking tests so that no one cheats, etc. Otherwise he stands at the front all alone. He has a walking stick and uses that mostly, he uses the stairs, escalators, elevators just like everyone else. The biggest issue is when it comes to using a projector. He always asks for a volunteer to move the projector to the desk and to straighten out the sheets (right side up, etc.). Otherwise I dont think there's anything that is so different for him than anyother teacher.
2007-09-14 21:11:52 · answer #8 · answered by Lauren S 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Stephen Hawking has more challenges than nearly anyone I have met personally, and he is justly regarded as brilliant. Though I've worked in an academic library for the last 26 years, I don't recall any faculty with particular challenges, but we have a lot of students, at all levels.
2007-09-14 21:14:11 · answer #9 · answered by william_byrnes2000 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had several professors during my undergrad and grad school years that had disabilities.
In grad school, one of the top professors at Vanderbilt in the speech/language department had CP. Dr. Love was nationally known in his field, and a fantastic teacher and clinician. Another staff member was a paraplegic.
As an undergrad student, I had 4 professors that had difficulties with severe stuttering. Interesting, in that they were all in the field of speech/language.
In each case, the professors were well respected in their fields and popular with their students.
2007-09-15 14:49:38 · answer #10 · answered by pwernie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋