ESC activist a national advocate

A childhood curtailed by severe asthma gave David Du Bois his first glimpse of the world of disabilities that he would enter as an adult.

Du Bois, left, is an associate professor at SUNY’s Empire State College (ESC) in Rochester, and co-chair of the UUP Disability Rights and Con-cerns Committee. Active in several statewide advocacy groups for the disabled, Du Bois is renowned for his expertise on disability issues and the history of the disability movement in the United States.

He is also known as a compassionate mentor who always makes time to answer a question or provide information for a person with a disability.

His childhood asthma was coupled with a neurological problem that may have been an undiagnosed case of polio. In adulthood, Du Bois developed progressive muscle weakness that has many of the characteristics of adult post-polio syndrome. Now 54, he uses a battery-powered mobility scooter.

“But actually, I think that’s been a blessing in some ways,” Du Bois said in a recent interview. “I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve learned so much about being excluded, shut out.”

Du Bois began teaching part-time at ESC in 1973 and joined the faculty full time in 1989. He teaches accounting, finance and disability studies, and also conceived and organized a major conference on disability issues that is held on an every-other-year schedule.

“He has the ability to bring programs to fruition,” said Richard Butler, vice president for academics at ESC’s UUP chapter. “He’s done some amazing things in making that a nationally prominent conference.”

Du Bois is always looking ahead in his work with the Disability Rights and Concerns Committee. He fears that repetitive-stress injuries among members using non-ergomatic equipment are a “sleeping giant” that could become a major problem.

And the committee has watched with dismay as the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a number of decisions that committee members say have diluted the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The latest is last year’s Garrett decision (see story, right).

“This is an issue of concern because it could mean, for example, that someone who had a disability-related issue could be terminated from state employment without the protection of the ADA,” Du Bois said. “I think that’s a major concern for all UUP members.”

Married and the father of two grown children, Du Bois talks excitedly about work yet to be done, with the committee and with his students.

“I think I’ve always been on this journey,” he said. “I find it very rewarding.”

— Darryl McGrath