Disability, Unity, and Innovation Center Opens at Bryn Mawr

The Disability, Unity, and Innovation Center at Bryn Mawr College held its grand opening on Oct. 24, 2025. The Center’s goals include cultural engagement for students and faculty with disability. There are now 18 official disability cultural centers (DCCs) in higher education institutions in the United States. The University of Illinois Cultural Disability Center defines a DCC as a center that offers programs, discussions, art-based workshops and one-on-one support to understand disability issues and to provide a site or identity, community and culture around disability.

Grace Cipressi, an assistive technology specialist, led the opening of the DUIC, providing a tour of its features and significance to attendees. Cipressi was one of several creators of the DUIC from within Access Services who worked with members of the Library Information and Technology Services (LITS) department to bring this program to fruition. Cipressi stated, “The goal of the innovation center is to create a space where people who are interested in the topics of disability, accessibility, and innovation can gather to connect, create, and go forward to create more accessibility and unity in our world.”

The DUIC invites innovation into the concept of a DCC by adopting a threefold purpose, acting as an Assistive Technology Library, a Learning Lab, and a Community Lounge. The Assistive Technology Library allows members of the Bi-Co community to meet with an assistive technology specialist who can provide support in gaining tools to help with school, such as Helperbird, an immersive reader, and an app database for note-taking and time management. The Learning Lab provides services to teach community members to use assistive technology and related accessibility and design skills. At the same time, the community lounge is a safe space for students to connect and gather.

The application of disability culture is evident in the DUIC space’s unique, accessible design, which inspires innovation in its very creation. Located in the basement of Canaday Library, the DUIC has accessible doors for community members with limited mobility. To further accommodate the diverse needs of community members, the room’s design is flexible. The entrance to the space features a board where community members can state their sensory needs for the room, such as lighting type and noise level. The room’s furniture is lightweight and movable, allowing for the space to meet the physical needs of members with wheelchairs and mobility devices. The room also features pictures of women and nonbinary people with disabilities, many of whom are innovators, to inspire members in the space. Recognizable faces and influential figures include Temple Grandin, Frida Kahlo, Sumaira Latif (Procter & Gamble’s first company accessibility leader), and Dr. Mary Verghese (the pioneer of the Rehabilitation Institute in India who experienced mobility disability herself).

The inspiration for the design of this space partly comes from Bryn Mawr students’ engagement. Cipressi states, “The creation of this center was inspired by student feedback about a desire for a space to connect with like-minded peers. Additionally, last semester, a series of listening sessions that were advertised in the Daily Digest were held where students could come to give their input about the design for the space.”

Members of the Bico community can learn more about the DUIC and its upcoming events on its official webpage: Disability, Unity, and Innovation Center