The University of Iowa has been working to improve accessibility at the John Pappajohn Business Building, most recently by installing larger accessibility buttons that open doors in the building.

Rick Adrian, Tippie College of Business director of facilities, said the old buttons looked around the size of a quarter. Diversity, equity, and inclusion committees at Tippie pushed for building improvements.

“They are doing 3-foot-by-10-inches across buttons so it’s more accessible for someone in a wheelchair,” Adrian said.

The Pappajohn Business Building will turn 30 years old in December, and over the years accessibility requirements and the Americans with Disabilities Act — which requires buildings to be accessible for those with disabilities — have changed. Adrian said the entire building is being re-evaluated.

“For example, we’ve got a handicapped ramp on the north side of the building, and there was no handicapped button to it,” Adrian said. “I don’t know if this was overlooked when the building was built, but we started the work of how to rectify that situation.”

Tippie College of Business has a DEI committee that was originally created to improve accessibility in the college.

Pamela Bourjaily, Tippie DEI Committee chair and an associate professor of instruction and accounting, said the committee’s goal is to promote accessibility in the classroom and create an environment ] where faculty, staff, and students can thrive.

“I think the whole Steering Committee overall, it seems to me to really be thinking about diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility,” Bourjaily said.

Abbie Stehum, a second-year graduate student in library and information sciences, served as the president of the UI Students for Disability Advocacy and Awareness organization last semester.

He said the group’s main focus is to support people with disabilities at the UI and work toward getting a cultural center for people with disabilities on campus.

The UI currently has four cultural centers: the Afro-American Cultural Center, Asian Pacific American Cultural Center, Latino Native American Cultural Center, and Pride Alliance Center.

“Just to have the buildings themselves be accessible is extremely helpful or practical and also just welcoming for the student,” Stehum said.

Stehum said people with low muscle capabilities might have trouble pushing the building’s doors open.

“You go all the way to campus only not to be able to get into the building,” he said. “That’s a lot of work.”

On the DEI Committee, Bourjaily said that accessibility is a precondition for learning.

“This is like physical access, and other aspects of DEI have to do with, maybe educational access or access to certain opportunities, but this is just total physical access to be able to use and participate in all of our spaces,” Bourjaily said.

Bourjaily said the changes matter because it is the right thing to do, and they are practical for the world we live in.

“You can’t learn or get to work if you can’t get in the building,” she said.

Facilities management has additional project goals, including adding door openers to restrooms in the Pappajohn Business Building. Adrian said the building plans on making additional accessibility changes in the future such as adding a larger button near Lecture Hall W10.

“As a college, we value an inclusive environment for all,” Adrian said.