Wednesday, June 1, 2022

UNH Sustainability AwardOn May 10th, the IOD received a Lifetime Achievement UNH Sustainability Award in the staff category. The Sustainability Awards program at UNH celebrates and incentivizes individuals and teams doing important sustainability research, curriculum development and teaching, campus initiatives and culture, and external engagement work across and beyond the university.

"The IOD strives to make communities, including our own UNH community, more inclusive and welcoming places, where opportunity is available to all people with disabilities.  The UNH Sustainability Award recognizes the IOD’s many contributions through its projects and programs to UNH, New Hampshire, and beyond in our commitment to the social well-being and economic vitality of people with disabilities, their families, and allies," says Kelly Nye-Lengerman, IOD Director, who accepted the award.

The IOD was nominated by Dr. Fiona Wilson, Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer for UNH:

Through their work over more than three decades to improve knowledge, policy, and practices related to the lives of people with disabilities and their families, the Institute on Disability has furthered sustainability outcomes such as reduced inequality, good health and well-being, infrastructure, and quality education. The IOD has demonstrated ongoing leadership, courage, and persistence, for example with innovations like the new UNH-4U program, which is set to fundamentally change the trajectory of the lives of young people with intellectual disabilities, improving gainful competitive and integrated employment outcomes. IOD is making communities—including our own UNH community—more inclusive and welcoming places where education and opportunity are available to all.

The program raises the visibility of these activities and achievements to help build a deep culture of sustainability that permeates all facets of the university.