The Universal Access Committee (UAC) was founded in 2017 as an ad hoc committee. It is sponsored by the VP Admin/CFO, and reports to the Director of Campus Development. The UAC helps Campus Development to identify, remove and prevent accessibility barriers related to the built environment.
To date, the UAC has raised just under $7 million in off-grant funding that is being used for accessibility upgrades on all campuses.
UAC Members
Sheila Boyce, Coordinator, Accessibility Services
David Alexander, University Librarian
Michael Carpenter, Web Manager, Information Technology
Karl Childress, Director - IT Operations
Linda Derksen, PhD, Chair
Universal Access Lead and Professor of Sociology
Harmoni Jones, Manager, VIU Student Housing
Richard Lewis, Associate Vice-President, Facilities and Ancillary Services
Josephine McNeilly, Human Resources
Janette Polson, Executive Assistant to CFO and VP Administration
Irlanda Price, PhD, Associate Vice-President, Student Affairs
Rebecca Relkov, IT End User Technology
Bryan Tinlin, Director, Student Services
Drew Taylor, Director, Campus Development
Melissa Townsend, Director, Ancillary Services
Lara Wright, Associate University Librarian
Past and Present Projects
The UAC has and will continue to mitigate accessibility issues at VIU.