Archives West Finding Aid

Disability Services for Students at the University of Montana in Missoula serves students with disabilities by ensuring that all programs are usable and accessible. In the early 1980s, at the urging of various university departments in response to a bill in the Montana House of Representatives that requested funding for handicapped services for the Commissioner of Higher Education, the University of Montana began exploring options for providing services to its disabled students. A Task Force for Handicapped Services was established with approval from University President Richard Bowers. The task force charged itself with creating a comprehensive list of handicapped students and the services they required as well as determining the cost of such services and possible resources for funding.

In 1988, the Alliance for Disability and Students at the University of Montana (ADSUM) was founded in response to continued access problems for UM students with disabilities. That same year, the University hired Jim Marks as its first disability student advisor to directly oversee students with disabilities and their needs. This position would eventually form the foundation of the Disability Services for Students department at the University of Montana (the first standalone office in support of students with disabilities). By 1989, Jim Marks would be the first coordinator of Disability Services for Students. By 1990, the new office of Disability Services for Students started publishing an official handbook to outline the services available. As of 2015, Disability Services for Students works with individual students to provide reasonable modifications to make programs and facilities accessible.