Who We Are
We believe in building an inclusive and welcoming campus experience for disabled students.
This requires a multifaceted approach that includes:
- Working individually with students, staff and faculty on requests and implementation of student accommodations.
- Proactively collaborating with campus partners to ensure a more inclusive campus environment that reduces the need for individual accommodations or retroactive building modifications.
Our Team
Jodi Litchfield
ADA Coordinator
Jodi began working at Middlebury College in 1990, and she has been working with students with disabilities since 1999.
Jodi works directly with students to determine appropriate accommodations and provides support for them in programs throughout the calendar year. Jodi is a resource for faculty and staff who work with students with disabilities, and she also meets with prospective families to discuss the process by which students request accommodations at Middlebury. She provides training in multiple capacities on campus and has presented at national conferences on a wide range of topics relating to disability in higher education. Outside of the office, Jodi enjoys spending time with family and friends along with her kitty.
- Email:
- litchfie@middlebury.edu
- Tel:
- (802) 443-5936
- Office:
- Service Building 207
Peter Ploegman
ADA Coordinator
Peter has been an ADA Coordinator in the Disability Resource Center since January 2020 and has over 10 years of experience in disability resource work in the higher education context.
As an ADA Coordinator, he works to dismantle and/or alleviate barriers to access and inclusion in the academic and residential learning environments. He also works closely with other like-minded campus partners to identify barriers and encourage the implementation of practices that are inclusive of disabled students. When not working in his role as ADA Coordinator, he is often spending time with his wife and teenage son enjoying the beautiful Champlain Valley landscape.
- Email:
- pploegman@middlebury.edu
- Tel:
- (802) 443-2382
- Office:
- Service Building 208
Deirdre Kelly
She/Her
ADA Coordinator
With a Masters Degree in Education and 25 years of experience as an educator, Deirdre’s work focuses on inclusion and social justice. She partners with students, faculty and staff to address barriers to full participation. Her goal remains working with campus partners to create a more universally designed campus that reduces the need for individual accommodations. As a queer, white, able-bodied woman, she’s most interested in collaborations that increase disability access and community care. Storytelling, feminism and restorative practices are fundamental to her work of reimagining and reconstructing a just, joyful world.
- Email:
- dkelly@middlebury.edu
- Tel:
- (802) 443-2746
- Office:
- Service Building
What Informs Our Work
Social Justice
Disability is an integral part of diversity and inclusion. All disabled students are valued members of our learning community and should have equal access and full participation to the Middlebury experience.
Disability Studies
An interdisciplinary field of inquiry, Disability Studies examines disability as a social, historical, cultural, relational, and political concept and lived experience. It recognizes that disability is always connected to other identities and shaped by broader social forces.
Inclusive Design
Rather than tailoring to meet the needs of select populations or narrow uses, inclusive designs are robustly usable to widely diverse kinds of people. Guided by a belief that designs reflect community values, inclusive design offers a sustaining way to live our commitment to a welcoming, engaged, and inclusive Middlebury community.
Compliance
For more than 50 years, U.S. federal law has required disability access. Through Individual consultation and systemic planning, DRC works in collaboration with Middlebury College’s campus partners to ensure compliance with the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). We work to interpret not just the letter of these laws, but their spirit, always striving for the most inclusive solutions to disability-related barriers.