This session will provide strategies and supports to ensure teaching is equitable, accessible, and inclusive for ALL students, including (but not limited to) multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and first-generation students. The session will begin by providing the objectives and principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), how UDL contributes to anti-racist and anti-ableist practices, and end with examples of equitable, accessible, and inclusive course delivery methods and assignments.

Facilitator Bio

Saili S. Kulkarni, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Special Education at San José State University (SJSU). Dr. Kulkarni’s research seeks to understand the intersections of disability and race in teacher education using a framework of disability studies critical race theory (DisCrit). Her recent work portrays the experiences and challenges faced by teachers of color including special education teachers of color (SETOC) and/or teachers of color working with young children of color with disabilities. She is the recipient of a Spencer Foundation Racial Equity Grant (2021-2023) to study exclusionary discipline practices impacting young children of color with disabilities in preschool and early elementary grades. She is also the inaugural BIPOC Educator Fellow for the National Center for Research in Educator Diversity (NCRED). Dr. Kulkarni received early tenure and promotion from SJSU in 2021 with the support of the NCFDD Summer Bootcamp, which she participated in, back in Summer 2020.

Free Individual Memberships for the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD)

Available to all Cornell students, postdocs, faculty, and staff

Cornell is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD), a nationally recognized, independent organization providing online career development and mentoring resources. The NCFDD provides members with access to tools to increase research and writing productivity and improve work-life balance.  

Activate your account by following the steps below:

1. Go to the NCFDD website
2. Under “Select Your Institution,” choose “Cornell University”
3. Select “Activate my Membership”
4. Complete the registration form using your Cornell email address
5. Check your Cornell email account to find a confirmation/welcome email. Click “Activate Account” in the email