Disability Access Services Records, 1973-2016

Efforts to address the needs of students with disabilities attending Oregon State University began in the early 1970s with the formation of the Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities. The committee sought to comply with Section 204 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, including making buildings increasingly accessible. In 1977, Pamela Walker became the first Coordinator of Services to the Handicapped. The goal of the position was to create a program that provided services for students with disabilities and identified barriers to student success.

The Disability Access Services Office began as Handicapped Services, located in the Counseling Center, during the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, Handicapped Services became the office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). The office was transferred from the Counseling Center to the Office of Student Services, later renamed the Dean of Students Office, in January 1984. During the 1990s, the SSD office would experience two additional moves, first to the Office of Academic Affairs during the Fall of 1994, and later to the Office of Student Affairs during the Fall of 1997. The Services for Students with Disabilities office would later be renamed as the Disability Access Services office.

As the office evolved, new programs and services were introduced to address the growing needs of students, including the Learning Disabilities Program, approved in the mid-1980s, and the Disability Access Services Testing Center, opened in 2012. Student organizations were also founded alongside the programs. The Handicapped Students Unlimited became a recognized student organization in 1976, hosting the first Handicapped Awareness Week in May of 1978. The organization would later be renamed as the Disabled Students Organization.