academic services coordinator, 308.865.8798
UNK- Tim Kolb of Franklin, CEO and executive director for the Kolb Foundation for Disability Education, will be a featured speaker during Disability Awareness Week, Nov. 17-20, on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus.
Kolb, who was born with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy known as Werding-Hoffman Syndrome or spinal muscular atrophy,
will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Copeland Hall, Room 130.
When he was diagnosed at the age of 8 months, doctors told his parents that he would not live more than a few months beyond the time of their diagnosis. Kolb, a UNK graduate, turned 61 last January.
In early 1995, Kolb was influential in modifications made to the Nebraska Nurse Practice Act, which allowed competent adult persons with disabilities to direct their own care in their own home and community. The modifications were made through an amendment to the act, which became known as the “Tim Kolb Amendment.” The amendment was subsequently passed by the Nebraska Unicameral in June of 1995. Kolb is currently a member of the Nebraska Statewide Independent Living Council.
His presentation and others during the week are free and open to the public. Activities are being sponsored jointly by the Center for Academic Success, Center for Teaching Excellence, UNK Active Minds, Career Services, the Women’s Center, and Collegians for Integration and Accessibility (CIA).
Opening the week of activities on Monday, will be the second annual Ability March which will take place at noon at Cope Fountain. At 7 p.m. Monday evening, the Leadership Advocacy Institute will host an informational meeting in Copeland Hall, Room 130. The Leadership Advocacy Institute works with people with disabilities to teach them how to take a greater leadership role in their communities as well as develop self-advocacy skills.
On Tuesday, from 2 – 4:30 p.m., there will be an Adaptive Technology Demonstration in Room 310 of the Nebraskan Student Union Room. Among the presenters will be Jane Petersen and Don Ray, both from UNK Information Technology Services, and Jeff Stelling of Kearney-based Stelling Brass & Winds. Stelling, inventor of the “toggle key saxophone,” will discuss this adaptation to a musical instrument.
Activities on Wednesday will include a special performance by Dr. David Nabb, UNK associate professor of music, at 7 p.m. in the UNK Fine Arts Recital Hall. Nabb will be demonstrating the “toggle key” saxophone.
After surviving a massive stroke in 2000 that left him unable to play or teach, Dr. Nabb, together with Stelling, developed a “toggle-key” saxophone that can be played with only one hand. In 2003, this new instrument allowed Dr. Nabb to resume performing and his pre-stroke teaching activities. He has taught woodwinds at UNK since 1994. The UNK One-Handed Woodwinds Program maintains the philosophy that music is a necessary element of the human experience.
Also on Wednesday, “Psychological Disabilities: Depression, Anxiety and Suicide,” will be presented by UNK Active Minds, at 10 a.m. in the Nebraskan Student Union Room 312. UNK student Kevin Kurtenbach will provide insight on overcoming and reaching beyond this disability. UNK Counseling Care will also be on hand to provide information and to answer questions.
The Center for Teaching Excellence will also sponsor the Providing Access for Higher Education for All: Accommodating Faculty and Staff panel discussion at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Nebraskan Student Union Room 238A. UNK faculty and ADA network representatives will be available to answer questions of accommodation for faculty, staff and students, and discuss their views on disability services and making the necessary course content adjustments to provide equal access. Participating faculty include Dr. Jan Moore, Department of Communication Disorders; Dr. Beth Wiersma, Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work; Dr. Larry Hughes, Department of Management; and Dr. Krista Forrest, Department of Psychology.
The Office of Career Services will host Career Information for Students with Disabilities at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Nebraskan Student Union Room 238A. Career information and insights into career development will be available. Counselors from Career Services will be on hand to answer questions. Information will also be available at the Career Services Office in the Memorial Student Affairs Building all week.
Concluding the week on Thursday, Nov. 20, is a student presentation on Turner Syndrome and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) at 2 p.m. in the Nebraskan Student Union Room 312. A UNK student will discuss her Turner Syndrome and how she has adjusted her learning to compensate for this disability. During this presentation, those who attend will have an opportunity to experience what a universal design for learning (UDL) environment might be like.
Finally, the documentary “Christopher Reeve: Hope in Motion” will be shown in Copeland Hall Room 130 at 7 p.m. The documentary takes an intimate look into the Reeve family after the tragic accident that forever changed their lives.
For a complete listing of the week’s events, log on to the Academic Success page of the UNK Web site at http://www.unk.edu/cas. The Disability Awareness Week link can be found on the left side of the main page.
