C’Lesa Kay
Staff Writer
Pepperdine’s office of Disability Services has hired a new director, Tammy Selby, to provide equal opportunities for students with physical and learning disabilities. On April 5, Selby will have been director for four months and she has been tremendously busy learning the details of her job description and doing everything in her power to aid the disabled students at Seaver College, Pepperdine’s four professional schools and five satellite schools.
The massive amounts of time and energy required for this position would turn many off from the job, but Selby thrives on the intricacy involved and the gratification found in providing equal access to every student.
“I never would have thought I’d end up here,” Selby said. “I just knew I wanted to do something people-oriented and challenging where I could use my gifts.”
One day Selby expressed her desire for such a job to a friend over lunch who then informed Selby about the opening in Pepperdine’s Disability Services department.
Selby is convinced that God has placed her precisely where she’s meant to be. “It already feels like a perfect fit. The job combines so many of my gifts from the counseling aspect to my organizational skills,” she said. These talents are imperative to adequately performing her tasks as director.
The office of Disability Services is responsible for ensuring that every Pepperdine student receives equal access to the services available. If a student has a diagnosed learning or physical disability he must first bring documentation to Disability Services and meet with Selby.
She reviews the documents to verify two basic requirements: the diagnosis must legally fit the Association of Higher Education and Disabilities’ definition of the individual’s disability and the disability must interfere with a major life activity.
If the student’s disability meets these two prerequisites, he or she is officially registered with the office and offered whatever reasonable and appropriate accommodations needed.
For example, sight-impaired or dyslexic students can use special software that scans pages of books and then reads them aloud. Audio books can also be ordered from Reading For the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) and Disability Services can hire interpreters for hearing-impaired students.
Selby has attended both an assistive technology conference at CSUN and a regional AHEAD conference to learn more about helping disabled students and how to use the specialized software programs.
Registered learning-disabled students may use the private testing room located in the disabilities office and if needed the tests will be proctored by student workers. If this particular room is not available, Selby is responsible for finding another distraction-free testing site on campus. She makes arrangements for certain students who may need more time for tests as well.
With the end of the semester approaching, the office has been focusing much energy on providing special testing situations for registered students’ finals.
Fall semester of 2005, 76 students were registered with Disability Services and this semester, Spring 2006, 156 students have been registered. The jump in registration numbers for Spring may be due to several factors.
“Many students may not even realize that these services are available until second semester so some don’t sign up until spring,” said Michelle Pena, who works in the office. “Also many students transfer to Pepperdine mid-year and people come back from over seas as well,” she added.
There are far more learning disabled in the program than physically disabled students. This may be due to the intimidation of Pepperdine’s thousands of stairs and several steep hills. Perhaps many physically impaired people don’t even consider attending Pepperdine once seeing the obstacle-coursed campus.
Selby’s main goal for the future of the department is to better educate faculty and new students and parents about the aid available for disabled. A better informed campus will help grant each individual equal opportunity and care here at Pepperdine.
“Parents of new students experience worry and stress as well,” Selby said.
The college transition is difficult enough for incoming freshmen and parents, especially when a disability is hindering their performance in class on top of the new setting, lifestyle and roommates.
“You have to be sensitive when talking about this subject,” Selby said.
Some of her ideas for informing the public about the world of disabilities include hosting workshops and giving low-key speeches at NSO and faculty orientations. She would also like to be involved in offering support for graduating students as they begin yet another life transition while dealing with a disability.
Though she has long-term visions, Selby believes not much needs to be changed at this point. “I feel the office began well,” she explained, “they established a strong foundation and I just want to continue building on it.”
Brian Bushway, a blind 2005 Pepperdine graduate, said that this foundation is one of the main reasons he chose to attend Pepperdine.
State schools are required to have disability services but private schools’ departments vary in availability and quality. When he first began looking at colleges, the honesty he found at Pepperdine’s Disability Services was encouraging and unique.
“‘Hey, we’ve only had this office for a couple years, but we’re going to be honest with you,’” he recalled Disability Services’ positive straightforward attitude. “‘You’re going to come on board with us and we’re willing to learn together with you.’ They were professional about everything,” Bushway said.
Bushway believes that Pepperdine is a unique place in its acceptance of disabled students.
“The attitude at Pepperdine in general is, ‘This person has a different life experience. They have something to contribute to the learning environment,’” Bushway said. “Other places it’s more like, ‘Oh man, we have to deal with the blind guy or the deaf person.’”
Selby’s main long-term goal is to make this attitude even more widespread at Pepperdine so each student and faculty member is educated and every disabled student feels completely comfortable and accepted.
Selby’s years of experience and education should serve her well in her mission to bring growth to Disability Services. She has an undergraduate degree in education and in 1999 received a Master of Pastoral Counseling from Loyola College in Baltimore, Md.
Selby taught 1st and 5th grade until she decided to spend more time at home with her two sons (now both college students on the East Coast) and substitute teach on the side. She then did counseling in educational settings as well as in homeless shelters until deciding once again to spend time with her boys when they were in high school. She later began working at a medical research firm doing data collection and administrative work.
She first came to Pepperdine doing temp work in the Seaver Dean’s office for about a month and then in the International Studies and Languages division for another month before applying for the job she currently holds. Here she became familiar with Pepperdine’s methods, ideas and people.
“Spending time in these divisions for a while helped me a lot because when I began this new position I was already familiar with the way the divisions work at Pepperdine,” she recalled.
Selby’s husband, Gary Selby, also recently joined the Pepperdine family. In July 2005, he was hired as a communications professor. “Pepperdine has been extremely supportive in many ways,” Tammy Selby said.
Both Selbys feel welcome on campus, have become involved with campus ministries, and are enjoying the Pepperdine students. The couple has long has a passion for college age kids and the Selbys believe Pepperdine is an incredibly unique place.
Tammy Selby is loaded with work right now but hopefully once she settles into her job she will have more time to enjoy her hobbies of reading, making pottery, and knitting among other artistic expressions.
“The job is going to be a challenge, but I’ve been ready for a challenge,” she said excitedly. “Pepperdine has so many neat opportunities,” she said. “I just don’t want to see any segment of the population denied access to them.”
06-27-2006