Disability Specialist

For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world's most influential artists, designers and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top four graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries and state-of-the-art facilities.

SAIC's undergraduate, graduate and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.

The mission of the Disability and Learning Resource Center (DLRC) is to support a universally accessible educational community that fosters full participation and contribution of every member. The DLRC carries out its mission by delivering innovative and high-quality services to SAIC students with disabilities and by facilitating and advocating for reasonable accommodations so that students have equal access to all programs, activities, and services of the institution.

The DLRC cultivates opportunities for students to articulate their strengths, empowers them to advocate for their own learning needs, and identifies and responds to the dynamic nature of student needs and learning environments.

The Disability Specialist advances the mission of the Disability and Learning Resource Center (DLRC) by supporting equal and equitable access and full participation for students with registered disabilities. The position engages students in the interactive accommodation process, reviews disability-related documentation and student-reported information, determines reasonable academic and housing accommodations, and coordinates implementation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act (FHA), SAIC policies, and professional best practices.

Working within SAIC's distinctive art and design curriculum, the Disability Specialist partners with students, faculty, and campus colleagues to remove barriers to learning while supporting student self‑advocacy, accessibility, and inclusive educational practices. The position also contributes to the effective operation and continuous improvement of DLRC services through accommodation management, assistive technology, accessible testing and materials, AIM case management, and service improvement initiatives.

Grounded in the DLRC’s values of access and equity, collaboration, accountability, creativity, and integrity, the Disability Specialist helps foster a campus where all students can fully participate and thrive.

• Engages students in an individualized, interactive accommodation process through intake meetings and ongoing consultation. Review student self-report, disability documentation, functional impacts, and other relevant information to determine reasonable accommodations appropriate to an art and design curriculum, including studio modifications, critique adjustments, material safety accommodations, alternative formats for visual work, and other individualized accommodations.
• Applies the ADA, ADAAA, Section 504, FHA, institutional policies, and professional standards to determine, coordinate, implement, and monitor academic and housing accommodations across classrooms, studios, fabrication facilities, residence halls, field experiences, and other institutional programs, activities, and services.
• Provides individualized disability-related support that promotes self‑advocacy and student success through learning strategies, executive functioning support, organization, time management, assistive and adaptive technologies, and referrals to appropriate campus resources.
• Evaluates disability-related housing…