Recent survey results show that 20-30% of faculty and staff in your unit identify as having a disability*. As a department chair, how do you create a climate where those with disabilities feel respected and supported?

In this episode of Advancing Faculty Excellence, Dr. Amy Hughes, Professor of Theatre & Drama (SMTD), explores how leaders can create a culture of access in their departments and beyond. Using the Eight Levers to Shift Climate for Respect and Inclusion, Dr. Hughes shares strategies for proactively building a departmental climate where accessibility is understood as both a shared responsibility and a collective benefit.

*We define disability broadly and inclusively, regardless of whether or not respondents have any official diagnosis or documentation, to encompass physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, chronic illnesses, neurodivergence, mental health conditions, learning disabilities, and more that can at times make job-relevant tasks difficult.

Featured RISE Case Study: CCS #8 - A Climate Supportive of Disability

Amy E. Hughes is a Professor of SMTD Theatre & Drama, a Faculty Associate in LSA American Culture, and a Faculty Associate Director of ADVANCE. Her interests and expertise include disability studies, human-animal studies, material and visual culture, digital humanities, documentary editing, and culturally responsive pedagogy (via Dr. Geneva Gay). Her latest book, An Actor’s Tale: Theater, Culture, and Everyday Life in the Nineteenth-Century United States, was published by University of Michigan Press in September 2025.

Episode Resources:

U-M Disability Equity Office & U-M Digital Accessibility

Promoting Supportive Academic Environments for Faculty with Mental Illnesses. (Margaret Price & Stephanie L. Kerschbaum, 2017)

Faculty and Staff Experiences in LSA with Disabilities & Accommodations. (U-M ADVANCE Program, 2022).

The Problems of Ableist Language. (MelodyS, 2020, Medium).

Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time. (Ellen Samuels, Disability Studies Quarterly, 2017)

Eight Levers to Shift Climate for Respect and Inclusion. The Respect in Striving for Excellence (RISE) Committee. (2022, August) University of Michigan ADVANCE Program.

Find a full episode transcript here

Enjoyed this episode? Explore more case studies and resources at https://advance.umich.edu/rise/.

Credits:

Hosts: Mike Liemohn, Associate Director, Advance Program & Kelsey Arras, Communications and Project Specialist, ADVANCE Program

Producer: Kelsey Arras, Communications and Project Specialist, ADVANCE Program

Music: WP Norton & So Say We All!

Production Support: Shapiro Library Design Lab

What do you do if you’re in a faculty meeting, and a faculty colleague says something that is off topic, disparaging, or ‘playing devil’s advocate’? Episode 1 of the Advancing Excellence Podcast is here to help provide some strategies for navigating this type of situation.

On the debut episode of the U-M Advancing Excellence Podcast, hosts Mike Liemohn and Kelsey Arras are joined by Dr. Christine Simonian Bean, Associate Director of the CRLT Theater Program. Using the Eight Levers to Shift Climate for Respect and Inclusion, Dr. Bean provides examples of how to navigate dealing with a bad actor, both proactively and reactively.

Featured RISE Climate Case Study: CCS #4 Interrupting a Bad Actor

Christine Simonian Bean (she/her) is the Associate Director of the CRLT Theatre Program and a member of the ADVANCE Program's RISE Committee. Previously, Christine was an Assistant Director for Faculty Programs and Services at Columbia University's Center for Teaching and Learning, and a Graduate Associate at Northwestern University’s Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching. She earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 2016. At CRLT, Christine provides strategic direction for the CRLT Theatre Program; integrates programming into college and campus initiatives; and designs, facilitates, and assesses sessions and curricula that promote a more equitable higher education community.

Episode Resources: Eight Levers to Shift Climate for Respect and Inclusion. The Respect in Striving for Excellence (RISE) Committee. (2022, August) University of Michigan ADVANCE Program.

Proactive Microresistance in a Microaggressive World (Cheung, Faculty Focus, 2021)

Disarming racial microaggressions: Microintervention strategies for targets, White allies, and bystanders. (Sue, et al..American Psychologist, 2019)

Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations (Ury, 1993)

Microresistance as a Way to Respond to Microaggressions on Zoom and in Real Life (Cheung, Faculty Focus, 2021)

Find a full episode transcript here.

Enjoyed this episode? Explore more case studies and resources at https://advance.umich.edu/rise/.

Credits:

Hosts: Mike Liemohn, Associate Director, Advance Program & Kelsey Arras, Communications and Project Specialist, ADVANCE Program

Producer: Kelsey Arras, Communications and Project Specialist, ADVANCE Program

Music: WP Norton & So Say We All!

Production Support: Shapiro Library Design Lab

While we all may agree that experiencing respect at work is important, fostering a welcoming workplace climate can be more complicated. The first season of ADVANCE’s new podcast (ADVANCING Faculty Excellence) offers specific strategies for cultivating a workplace environment where everyone is treated with professionalism and dignity.

With an emphasis on practical approaches, we’ll draw upon the expertise of the ADVANCE RISE Committee and their climate case studies. We’ll take on topics such as interrupting a bad actor, promoting service equity, and addressing power imbalances among faculty.

Ready to listen? Get started with this 5-minute introduction, hosted by Mike Liemohn, ADVANCE Faculty Associate Director, RISE committee co-chair, and professor of engineering and produced & edited by Kelsey Arras, ADVANCE Communications and Project Specialist.

Transcripts and show notes are included with every episode. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.