Services for Students with Disabilities names Excellence in Access and Inclusion awardees
At the fall Access and Inclusion Awards, Services for Students with Disabilities celebrated members of the Virginia Tech community who have made exceptional contributions to an inclusive and accessible environment at the university.
Monica Motley, senior research associate in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was recognized with the Sally Bohland Award for Exceptional Leadership in Access and Inclusion.
The award honors exemplary representatives of service in the areas of access, accessibility, and inclusion of students with disabilities and those whose leadership fosters a culture of access and inclusion. The award recognizes the often-unacknowledged work of those who exceed expectations to provide an exceptional degree of service.
Motley’s social and behavioral health research focuses on the multidirectional relationships between social determinants of health — such as prejudice, oppression, systems-based inequities, and health disparities of minoritized populations.
She is the CEO and founder of The Motley Consulting Group LLC, a research and design firm that helps community activists, universities, and organizations strategically improve their organizational compacity to deliver health services to minoritized communities.
“Dr. Motley embodies the values of exceptional leadership by serving as a model for others in access and inclusion," said Mya Hooks, Services for Students with Disabilites academic coach and counselor.
According to Motley’s nomination, “her interactions with others always center around inclusion and respect, and she always made it known that her class is for everyone — with no exceptions.”
Paige Van de Vuurst and the Universal Design for Learning Fellows were the 2024 recipients of the Sally Bohland Award for Innovative Service.
The Sally Bohland Award for Innovative Service in Access and Inclusion is awarded annually to faculty, staff, students, departments, or teams who support students with disabilities in new and original ways. This award recognizes the contributions of those who create significant opportunities to improve accessibility at Virginia Tech.
Van de Vuurst is a disease ecologist and climate scientist working in the Laboratory of Disease, Ecology, and Biogeography and a Ph.D. candidate in the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program.
“Paige has worked extensively with the Disability Alliance and Caucus [DAC] to foster accessibility and inclusion for disabled Virginia Tech faculty, staff, and students," Hooks said. "She has served as an officer in both DAC and the Fish and Wildlife Graduate Student Association, where she focused on advancing initiatives on and off campus for the LGBTQIA+ and disabled communities.”
According to her nomination, “her service work and leadership transform our institution and unite communities to work together on issues that intersect.”
The Universal Design for Learning Fellows are 12 faculty fellows led by chair Kim Loeffert, assistant professor in the School of Performing Arts. The team is supported by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost to bring together faculty and administrators in their exploration of emergent technologies and practices to impact student learning and teaching.
The group's nomination said, “They intentionally structure their courses to ensure that disabled students have choices to maximize their learning and engagement with course content, serving as peer mentors to teaching faculty members.”
Anyone interested in nominating faculty, staff, students, departments, or teams for Excellence in Access and Inclusion can find more information online.
Written by Ainsley Craigin, a senior majoring in multimedia journalism and minoring in international relations
