The Rhode Island 2026 fiscal year budget included $2.3 million to support campus accessibility improvements around the University of Rhode Island’s campus over the next five years.
The university barely meets the Americans with Disabilities Act minimum requirements, according to Annette Bourbonniere, co-owner of Accessibility & Inclusion Consulting LLC and URI Disability Advocacy Group co-founder.
The Disability, Access and Inclusion office has a handicap accessible restroom on the second floor with no way for wheelchairs to enter, according to Bourbonniere.
Students with disabilities come to Bourbonniere feeling inconvenienced by their disabilities, according to Bourbonniere. Those with mobility or accessibility challenges are consistently requesting for aspects of the campus to be more inclusive.
The university promotes “an inclusive, accessible, equitable and diverse community whereby we respect the rights and dignity of all,” according to the Office of the Presidents Strategic Plan.
The university has realized the campus is not feeding everyone’s needs, according to Paul DePace, director of URI Office of Capital Projects.
“We have an elevation change between Tootell Road, the low end of the football stadium level and the Fine Arts level of 100 feet,” DePace said.
This is not beneficial for those without a power wheelchair, according to Bourbonniere.
“What we’re doing is taking on a number of streets, roads, sidewalks, [to] improve them for physical accessibility, for people with mobility problems,” DePace said.
The change on campus started over the summer with curb cuts and repaving, according to DePace. The university’s next project will use $1 million funding from the state legislature to replace an elevator in Roosevelt Hall.
“It’s been identified early on that Roosevelt is a center,” DePace said. “It’s a hub for student-associated projects and programs, so physical access to that building is extremely important.”
The university’s ongoing improvements address the physical barriers, but challenges extend beyond infrastructure, according to Bourbonniere. Bourbonniere believes that there is a significant issue of “denying there’s a problem” at URI.
“If you don’t [think you] have a problem, you don’t have to fix it,” Bourbonniere said.
Bourbonniere said she thinks that ableism is a problem at the university. She perceives there to be pushback with disabled students wanting to be heard by faculty and staff.
“There is a refusal to learn about disability… the idea is that we’re a cost burden,” Bourbonniere said.
Students shouldn’t feel like a burden, according to Bourbonniere.
“You want to scream after a while,” Bourbonniere said. “There is an emotional toll, for people with disabilities to be constantly requesting every single thing they need.”
The URI Office of Equal Opportunity is compliant with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs; the ADA Act, which imposes accessibility standards on public accommodations; and nondiscrimination on the basis of disability, which defines disability.
The university is required to designate at least one employee to coordinate its compliance with the aforementioned acts, according to the URI Office of Equal Opportunity website. URI’s coordinator director for ADA and 504 is Dorca Smalley.
Students can report discrimination or harassment on the basis of disability by visiting the equal opportunity office or filing a complaint using the civil rights complaint form, according to the Office of Equal Opportunity website.
