Doug Blandy became interested in disability studies and art education when he volunteered as a graduate student in the 1970s at Gallipolis State Institution in Ohio.

As a youngster, the University of Oregon’s senior vice provost for Academic Affairs said his “earliest experiences with people with disabilities is that they were part of everyday life, they were part of the community, there wasn’t anything special about it.” Then he walked through the doors of Gallipolis.

“These were people who were separated from their families, the living conditions were in many cases rudimentary, there weren’t a lot of programs,” said Blandy, who is also a professor and adviser in the Arts and Administration Program. “What I experienced at this large institution was that people were being denied access [to] life in the community but also they were being denied access to education. I realized that this was a social justice issue and I thought, ‘OK, there’s work to be done here.’“

The National Art Education Association recently recognized Blandy’s efforts by awarding him the 2014 Beverly Levett Gerber Special Needs Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes an NAEA member whose exemplary career has made a unique and lasting impact on art education’s important role in the lives of people with special needs.

“Doug Blandy exemplifies the highly qualified art educators active in education today: leaders, teachers, students, scholars and advocates who give their best to their students and the profession,” said NAEA President Dennis Inhulsen.

For more information, read “Blandy wins lifetime achievement award.”

- by Marti Gerdes, School of Architecture and Allied Arts