{"id":46063,"date":"2026-02-24T14:25:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/?p=46063"},"modified":"2026-02-24T14:25:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:25:57","slug":"meet-unds-faculty-accessibility-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2026\/02\/meet-unds-faculty-accessibility-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet UND\u2019s Faculty Accessibility Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Faculty peer\u00a0mentor\u00a0group\u00a0seeks\u00a0to\u00a0\u2018champion\u2019\u00a0new\u00a0standards for\u00a0digital accessibility\u00a0by sharing tips and tools<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_46066\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46066\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-46066 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/260219-michelle-buehlmann-jon-maskaly-9968-web-2.jpg\" alt=\"Jon Maskaly and Michelle Buehlmann sitting side by side\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/260219-michelle-buehlmann-jon-maskaly-9968-web-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/260219-michelle-buehlmann-jon-maskaly-9968-web-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/02\/260219-michelle-buehlmann-jon-maskaly-9968-web-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-46066\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jon Mask\u00e1ly, associate professor of Criminal Justice, and Michelle Buehlmann, clinical assistant professor of Political Science &amp; Public Administration, spoke with UND Today for a Q&amp;A about their roles as Faculty Accessibility Champions. Photo by Adam Kurtz\/UND Today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong> <em>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/und.edu\/about\/strategic-plan\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>UND LEADS Strategic Plan<\/strong><\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/und.edu\/about\/strategic-plan\/service.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Service<\/strong><\/a> core value calls on the University to \u201cstrengthen services and cultivate programs for recruiting, mentoring and advancing historically underserved and marginalized students and employees.\u201d The story below highlights a campuswide commitment that UND has made to strengthening services and cultivating programs in exactly the way LEADS describes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">####<\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To support UND\u2019s instructors in improving digital accessibility, six members of the\u00a0faculty\u00a0have undergone training as Faculty Accessibility Champions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Comprised of a cross-discipline cohort from several UND Colleges, the Faculty Accessibility Champions were\u00a0recently\u00a0established\u00a0to aid UND instructors in meeting <a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/civil-rights\/digital-accessibility\/ada-title-ii.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Title II regulations in the Americans with Disabilities Act<\/strong><\/a> taking effect this spring.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As\u00a0one such champion,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/directory\/jonathan.maskaly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Jon Mask\u00e1ly, associate professor of Criminal Justice<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0summarized, his task as a champion is to connect colleagues to information,\u00a0resources\u00a0and techniques to improve course materials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For\u00a0fellow champion\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/directory\/michelle.buehlmann\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Michelle Buehlmann, clinical assistant professor of Political Science &amp; Public Administration<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0her new role is\u00a0like\u00a0becoming\u00a0a\u00a0\u201cbillboard\u201d\u00a0for accessibility practices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cBeing people in each College, we end up serving as a reminder just by existing,\u201d\u00a0she remarked.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Joining\u00a0Mask\u00e1ly\u00a0and\u00a0Buehlmann\u00a0as champions are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/directory\/rebecca.simmons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Rebecca Simmons, professor of Biology<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/directory\/mary.rivard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Mary Rivard, clincial assistant professor of Nursing<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/directory\/jared.schlenker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Jared Schlenker, clincial associate professor of Teaching, Leadership &amp; Professional Practice<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/directory\/dustin.mcnally\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dustin McNally, senior lecturer of Mechanical Engineering<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The group went through training\u00a0over\u00a0the past year through UND\u2019s Teaching Transformation &amp; Development Academy\u00a0to\u00a0learn more about ADA Title II,\u00a0Universal Design\u00a0for\u00a0Learning\u00a0and assistive technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/directory\/leeann.williams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Lee Ann Williams, clinical assistant professor\u00a0in\u00a0Education, Health &amp; Behavior Studies<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u00a0who helped bring the idea of \u201cchampions\u201d to UND, characterized peer mentorship as essential to making accessibility efforts\u00a0stick.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThey bridge the gap between policy, technology and everyday practice,\u201d Williams said. \u201cInstead of accessibility feeling like a set of\u00a0rules or extra work, peer support makes it practical,\u00a0normal\u00a0and doable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cWhen faculty and staff see peers modeling small changes and able to offer quick help or support, accessibility becomes part of everyday learning, not something imposed from the top down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To learn more about the Faculty Accessibility Champions and\u00a0how\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0approaching peer mentorship, UND Today hosted a Q&amp;A with\u00a0Mask\u00e1ly\u00a0and\u00a0Buehlmann.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The following has been edited for length,\u00a0style\u00a0and clarity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To introduce the idea of Faculty Accessibility Champions,\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0your elevator pitch on what this group is?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Michelle\u00a0Buehlmann<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: We have a mandate from the federal government to make things more accessible, and we, as accessibility champions, are here to\u00a0help\u00a0our fellow faculty in achieving that\u00a0objective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jon\u00a0Mask\u00e1ly<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: I agree with Michelle, and I also try to sell it as an opportunity. This comes from my experience at my prior institution, when I had a student who had low vision. I never realized how difficult it was to teach stats and how much I relied on visually explaining things. It basically excluded this student from the course, unintentionally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It took something that was\u00a0already\u00a0difficult for many of my students and made it instrumentally more difficult than it\u00a0had to be, because of the lack of assistive technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I\u2019ve\u00a0been trying to remind my colleagues that not only do we have an obligation to do this, but we have an opportunity in the event we\u00a0teach\u00a0students who may or may not fully acknowledge or ask for the services available to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">MB<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: The other thing I like to pitch is that if we do this from the get-go \u2014 make things more accessible \u2014\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0much\u00a0less\u00a0crunch\u00a0you\u00a0have to\u00a0go through\u00a0down the line. As soon as you get hit with that paperwork from the disability office, you\u00a0are required to\u00a0comply with\u00a0it. If\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0already done the work by building these habits of making your materials accessible,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0less\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0going to have to do\u00a0in\u00a0that moment when the semester is already underway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I\u2019m\u00a0curious about your perspectives and backgrounds on accessibility, particularly digital accessibility. What brought you to the point of being part of this group?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">JM<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: For me, it was that prior experience I mentioned, trying to figure things out with teaching stats. Once this\u00a0new requirement came around, I knew the challenge that we were all going to face in trying to get there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">So, I was trying to at least help folks out in doing that.\u00a0I think that it\u2019s a part of making campus\u00a0more inclusive to all of the folks\u00a0who\u00a0are here \u2014\u00a0trying to break down the barriers that exist to make education more accessible to people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For example, one thing I never knew until I started doing some of this work with accessibility was how many folks are colorblind. Again, I was teaching subjects that have graphical interfaces. And it disproportionately affects men.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">My brother-in-law,\u00a0who\u2019s\u00a0an electrical engineer,\u00a0remarked that he wished accessibility\u00a0was\u00a0more of a thing when he was in college, because you have no idea how hard it is trying to tell a light gray wire from a dark gray wire. People assume that red and green have an inherent value.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">MB<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: My personal motivation for this is actually my husband, who in 1993 had a brain hemorrhage while in his last year of law school. He had to have a part of his brain removed, and he lived at the National Rehabilitation Hospital for four months, learning how to walk all over again and read all over again, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But the school where he\u00a0was studying accommodated him and helped him, giving him all sorts of\u00a0assistance. He was able to graduate a year late and passed the bar exam on his first try.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I saw, firsthand, the benefits of when an institution steps up and\u00a0assists\u00a0the student who has a major obstacle put in their way and accommodates their disabilities. He now works for the National Disability Rights Network, helping people nationwide.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We have previously quoted the provost as saying that digital accessibility is everyone\u2019s responsibility.\u00a0Can you talk about some of the work\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0done, in your capacity as a faculty member, to help meet this bigger goal for UND?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">MB<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: For fellow faculty inside the Nistler building, I made \u201c10\u00a0steps to making your Word documents accessible\u201d and \u201c10 steps to making your PowerPoints accessible.\u201d And for each of those steps I made a one-\u00a0to five-minute video\u00a0for quick reference. That has been well-received among those\u00a0who\u2019ve\u00a0used it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For my own materials, I reset my font on Word and made that permanent, so my documents are in Arial font. And\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0made it more of a habit to use\u00a0the automatic\u00a0accessibility checkers in those applications.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0become built into my practice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">JM<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: The College of Arts &amp; Sciences is a very diverse college in terms of subjects. My colleague, Becky Simmons, and I are the accessibility champions for the College, and one of the things that we\u2019ve done is started a community of practice. We\u2019re bringing together folks who are interested in this or have particular problems \u2014 kind of like a recurring \u201coffice hours\u201d drop-in session.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We have two subject matter librarians\u00a0who\u00a0are part of this, as well as the instructional designer for the College.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Becky and I are consistently pushing the same message that Michelle mentioned earlier: after you learn to create your documents in an accessible format, your life is infinitely easier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our community of practice is trying to show that people\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have to suffer in silence or suffer alone through this, because everyone is facing the same thing \u2014 just some of us have managed to suffer earlier than others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Is there anything\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0been particularly helpful to you in better understanding and practicing digital accessibility?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">JM<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">:\u00a0I think\u00a0TTaDA\u2019s\u00a0resources are a starting place for\u00a0it, because\u00a0they cover\u00a0the basics of it. After that, you get into specific questions, having to\u00a0identify\u00a0one-off issues that\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0likely never\u00a0thought of before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Our community of practice in the College is finding these things that are causing issues beyond\u00a0the nuts and bolts\u00a0of digital accessibility.\u00a0For example, through that peer support,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0connecting subjects such as math and music to find ways to make equations and musical scores accessible.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0developing tools as people give them to us over time, because there\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0a silver bullet solution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">How do you see the Faculty Accessibility Champions helping in this effort?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">JM<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">:\u00a0\u00a0In my view,\u00a0we as\u00a0accessibility champions become a node in the network that can connect people with\u00a0ideas\u00a0and\u00a0information, as well as\u00a0encourage people to keep moving forward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">One\u00a0of the things\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0noticed\u00a0is that this year, as folks have started to\u00a0invest\u00a0the effort in doing this stuff, the amount of time that\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0investing is\u00a0significantly more than what it\u00a0would have been in the past. Oftentimes they feel discouraged, because\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0like, \u201cI just invested 25\u00a0additional\u00a0hours in doing\u00a0this,\u00a0and my accessibility score is not\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0supposed to be. How do I have time to do any of the other things that\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0supposed to do?\u201d And I\u00a0empathize with that and try to make sure people\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0feel\u00a0alone\u00a0doing this work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It\u2019s\u00a0been said before that accessibility practices are a benefit to all, regardless of ability.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0curious for your take on why these\u00a0additional\u00a0efforts are worth the time and effort.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">JM<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: One of the classes I teach is a crime prevention class, and we talk about environmental design and design features.\u00a0These include\u00a0such things as the curb cuts\u00a0that we\u00a0now\u00a0build\u00a0into\u00a0sidewalks\u00a0for wheelchair users. And it all started with a bunch of architects in the UK\u00a0who\u00a0decided they were going to get together and lobby to make this a standard.\u00a0The changes they inspired have made an amazing difference for everyone in our society.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think that there will be any negatives that are coming out of this.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0just a lot of work right now, in the\u00a0short term, to get out of it. And I think that once you get over that hump, once you fix your remediation issues in the past and you keep working on it slowly, it\u2019s going to be one of those things that will pay benefits\u00a0for yourself and students for a long time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">MB<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: I would add that one of the benefits I had last semester\u00a0was that\u00a0I had a\u00a0grad\u00a0student go through and transcribe and provide captions for\u00a0all of\u00a0my videos. And it turned out that, in the second week of class, I had a student with an auditory processing disorder who needed\u00a0all of\u00a0that stuff. And I was like, great, here!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0It was super smooth, and it was great\u00a0because the work had already been done. It could have been a situation of spending a lot of time fixing something during a time that is already crazy, being the start of the semester.\u00a0But because we\u2019d already done it, it was super easy for all involved, and that student did really well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What would you recommend to your peers who are interested in learning more about the Faculty Accessibility Champions, or who want to reach out?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">MB<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: I think most of us in the group have some story like mine, where\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0something in their life\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0motivated them to step forward and take on this responsibility of being an accessibility champion. Because of that,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0all doing it because\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0what we believe in\u00a0as\u00a0people, not for whatever credit we might receive.\u00a0We\u2019ll\u00a0help anybody who asks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">JM<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: To Michelle\u2019s point,\u00a0that personal connection to it completely centers you in the fact that somebody is struggling in a way that you cannot even begin to fathom.\u00a0You\u2019re watching people overcome all of the challenges that are beyond just the\u00a0simple subject matter of trying to learn.\u00a0When you see people that are\u00a0going through that,\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0naturally going to\u00a0try to reach out and see what you can do to help them, meet them where they are, and try to get them access to information accessibly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The bottom line is that if anybody ever wants to be involved in doing it or has a question, they can always reach out to us. At the end of the day, I would be absolutely tickled pink if somebody reached out and said, \u201cHey, I want to learn more about this. I want to learn how I can go about doing this and supporting the endeavors for it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">####<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>&gt;&gt;\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Questions or comments\u00a0<\/strong><strong>about the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/und.edu\/about\/strategic-plan\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UND LEADS Strategic Plan<\/a>?<\/strong>\u00a0Your thoughts are welcome! Please contact\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/und.edu\/directory\/ryan.zerr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ryan Zerr<\/a><\/strong>, associate vice president for Strategy &amp; Implementation, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/campus.und.edu\/directory\/anna.kinney\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Anna Marie Kinney<\/strong><\/a>, coordinator of the University Writing Program, the co-chairs of the UND LEADS Implementation Committee. You also may offer your thoughts by visiting the\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/und.edu\/about\/strategic-plan\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UND LEADS Strategic Plan home page<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and clicking on the \u201cProvide your feedback\u201d link.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Thank you for your support of the UND LEADS Strategic Plan!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SERVICE strategic priority: \u2018Strengthen services and cultivate programs for recruiting, mentoring and advancing historically underserved and marginalized students and employees\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":46066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1128],"class_list":["post-46063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-und","tag-service"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - 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