4th Annual Accessibility Summit Highlights Harvard's Commitment to Disability Inclusion

Harvard University Information Technology’s Digital Accessibility Services (DAS) hosted the 4th annual University-wide Accessibility Summit on June 4, 2026. The event brought together Harvard faculty and staff for a day of learning and connecting accessibility practitioners to celebrate progress made and highlight work done to drive disability inclusion across the University. In both the physical and digital worlds, accessibility is key to ensuring the entire Harvard community can access and contribute to the University’s knowledge, ideas, and resources. The Accessibility Summit highlighted the University’s commitment to making information technology and digital content, as well as physical spaces, accessible to everyone. 

In her opening remarks, Executive Vice President Meredith Weenick summed up the importance of incorporating accessibility into our community and work: “When Harvard makes it possible for more people to participate more fully in the life of this university, whether students, researchers, faculty, staff or members of the wider public community, we benefit from more ambition, more creativity and more talent.” 

The keynote address was delivered by Maria Town, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). Town emphasized that accessibility is a fundamental pillar of civil rights, economic participation, and human dignity. She also stressed the role of interdependence, noting, “Accessibility is best achieved when there is a shared understanding and accountability among everyone in the space, rather than putting the onus entirely on the disabled person.”

Members of Harvard’s Disabled employee community engaged in a panel discussion sharing their experiences from working in classrooms and administrative roles across campus. Kyle Shachmut, Sr. Director of Digital Accessibility Services, gave a talk about strategies for communicating the case for embedded digital accessibility.

Nine breakout sessions offered a comprehensive look at new tools, strategies, and best practices for advancing accessibility across campus. Sessions were hosted or co-hosted by experts from DAS, University Disability Resources (UDR), the Assistive Technology Center (ATC), Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and the Berkman Klein Center (BKC). Highlights included the introduction of Nextspace, a Berkman Klein solution for making virtual meetings more accessible to neurodiverse participants; suggestions for testing for digital accessibility on a budget; techniques for creating accessible math content; and an update on the use of AI in American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation.  

Following the Summit, some attendees expressed their appreciation that the annual event continues to grow, and gratitude that Harvard maintains a commitment to accessibility and collaborative learning.

The Summit complements year-round programming available to the entire Harvard community. Digital Accessibility Services offers training, consultation, and resources on accessibility for the Harvard community, and provides support and guidance on Harvard’s Digital Accessibility Policy.