Director, Disability Resource Center

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INITIAL REVIEW DATE (IRD)

UC Santa Cruz jobs are posted until filled. All application materials submitted by 11:59 pm on the IRD will be routed to the hiring team for consideration. NOTE: Applicants who miss the IRD are still encouraged to apply; their materials will still be forwarded for consideration if requested by the hiring team. Application materials cannot be accepted outside of the jobs portal. Applications cannot be edited on an applicant's behalf. For more information about the IRD and the applicant review process, view this link.

The IRD for this job is: 06-24-2025

ABOUT UC SANTA CRUZ

UC Santa Cruz is a public university like no other in California, combining the experience of a small, liberal arts college with the depth and rigor of a major research university. It's known as an unconventional place where innovation and experimentation is part of the campus's DNA. That playful, bold spirit still thrives today, all on a campus renowned as among the most beautiful in the world.

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

The UC Santa Cruz Division of Student Affairs and Success (DSAS), led by the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Success, consists of nearly 250 team members spanning 3 major units and 21 departments. The division provides campus wide coordination and leadership for student success programs, activities, and initiatives. DSAS also does our work through a range of resource centers dedicated to providing direct student support. The division's work is grounded in educational equity, institutional responsibility, and an unfettered commitment to supporting the whole student. DSAS aspires to ensure every student feels welcome, supported, and a sense of belonging during their time on campus. The division's efforts are informed by robust and dynamic relationships with campus leadership, faculty, students, and staff from across the campus, reflecting the broad campus commitment to ensuring student success. Beyond UC Santa Cruz, the team is involved in numerous professional organizations and highly engaged in the local community.

The Student Success and Equity (SSE) portfolio of departments is a branch of DSAS focused on academic support services, advising/counseling, student life/co-curricular programming, student identity development and retention/student success initiatives. Student Success and Equity provides services to the campus community with over 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students and has over 64 career employees and 475 student staff employees operating in 8 facilities/locations. The Student Success and Equity area includes a wide array of multi-disciplinary academic and non academic units including: Disability Resource Center (DRC), Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP), Learning Support Services, Services for Transfer and Re-entry Students (STARS), Renaissance Scholars Program (including Foster Youth), Veteran Resource Center, African American Resource and Cultural Center (AARCC), American Indian Resource Center (AIRC), Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center (AA/PIRC), Chicano/Latino Resource Center (El Centro), Women's Center (WC), the Lionel Cantu Queer Center (LGBTQ+), Undocumented Student Services (USS), the UCSC Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives (HSI), African Black and Caribbean Student Success, Career Success, and campus committees/programs, and the Administrative and Business team for the unit.

The Student Success and Equity area includes all of the units and over 125 state, federal, student service fees and gift fund sources and an annual operating budget of nearly $18 million dollars.

The Disability Resource Center (DRC) leads UC Santa Cruz in providing educational equity and a welcoming and accessible environment for students with disabilities. The DRC identifies legally mandated accommodations that address educational/environmental barriers and the impact of a student's disability(s). The DRC collaborates with campus stakeholders and students to remove or mitigate barriers to access and inclusion. The DRC advocates for the inclusion of disability in diversity initiatives that foster educational access for all. The DRC team stewards the process to ensure the University is in compliance with State, Federal, local laws and UC policies.

More information can be found at: https://drc.ucsc.edu/

JOB SUMMARY

Under the general direction of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Equity, the Disability Resource Center (DRC) Director provides transformational leadership to support access for students with disabilities in all institutional programs, services, and activities. The Director exercises collaborative leadership in advancing the equal participation of students with disabilities through the interactive process. The Director ensures that the DRC is guided by a program mission, has appropriate resources to fulfill the mission, operates under practices consistent with the mission, and establishes an ongoing process of assessment in achieving the mission. In collaboration with and in support of the DRC Leadership Team, the Director ensures that DRC professionals address individual requests for accommodations and support the implementation of accessibility solutions, including design changes and accommodations consistent with university policy and state and federal laws. The Director shares information, educates, and consults with a broad cross section of the campus community to facilitate access and inclusion for students with disabilities in all services, programs, and activities offered by the institution.

The DRC Director serves as a primary resource to the campus community regarding student programmatic access as mandated by state and federal laws. The DRC Director serves as the campus student program access manager and works strategically and collaboratively with the campus ADA Officer to support strategic ADA compliance in this area. The Director is expected to work at a high level of autonomy and exercise independent judgement, where appropriate, to identify, address, and resolve systemic and individual barriers for students with disabilities in all aspects of the university.

APPOINTMENT INFORMATION

Budgeted Salary: $130,000 - $155,000 / Annually. Salary commensurate with skills, qualifications and experience.
Under California law, the University of California, Santa Cruz is required to post a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. The salary shown above is the budgeted amount the University reasonably expects to pay and the salary extended should not exceed this posted amount.

Benefits Level Eligibility: Full benefits

Schedule Information:

• Full-time, Fixed
• Percentage of Time: 100%, 40 Hours per Week
• Days of the Week: Mon-Fri
• Shift Includes: Day

Employee Classification: Career appointment

Job End Date: None

Work Location: UC Santa Cruz Main Campus

Union Representation: Non-Represented

Job Code Classification: 000317 (STDT DISABILITY MGR 1) - Grade 24

Travel: Never or Rarely

JOB DUTIES

35% - Leadership and Collaboration

• Functions as the organization's authority on student accommodation to include auxiliary services, and advises senior management on all aspects of the program, and on the legal requirements affecting the program.
• Provides leadership, direction, and vision for Disability Resource Center (DRC) staff and students to foster equitable higher education experiences for students with disabilities.
• Makes strategic decisions that are aligned with the mission, goals, and values of the campus, the Equity and Equal Protection Office and the Disability Resource Center.
• Collaborates with administrators, faculty, staff, students, and other relevant institutional personnel in the design of equitable campus environments.
• Collaborates with academic personnel to ensure disability as diversity is considered in the development, review, and revision of academic policies.
• Fosters a positive disability narrative that informs the campus culture and climate while educating and inspiring community members to be agents of change in improving the climate for students with disabilities.
• Promotes disability representation at all levels of institutional decision-making.
• Sets short-and long-term program planning, establishing program priorities, and new services.
• Makes hiring recommendations, evaluates employee performance, provides coaching and counseling, and recommends disciplinary action for professional staff.
• Meets weekly or bi-weekly with employees and provides regular feedback on performance, attainment of goals, feedback on supervision of undergraduate students, and overall well being.
• Provides disability resource center professionals with ongoing opportunities for quality professional development and engagement with professional communities of practice.
• Advocates for and connects employees with other offices or other resources on campus to support employees' professional development.

25% - Administration, Planning, and Operations

• Creates, reviews, and revises professional practices for the effective and efficient delivery of services.
• Provides direction and guidance to subordinates.
• Manages the department's resources (fiscal, human resources, facilities, etc.) to ensure that they meet the needs of the program.
• Sets long- and short-term strategic goals for DRC programs and services (Administration team, Service Coordinators, Auxiliary Services, etc).
• Develops and publicizes a program mission that advances the institution's commitment to access and inclusion.
• Engages with campus leadership in collaboration with AVC regarding the institution's commitment to allocating the appropriate resources for coordinating services for disabled students.
• Acquires, maintains, and updates appropriate technology/software to support effective staff productivity (e.g., computers, assistive technologies, service coordination software).
• Develops effective operational protocols that leverage a secure, computerized database to maintain and organize confidential student records,facilitates coordination of services, supports and guides communication with students and faculty, and supports the development of reports.
• Designs and implements a rigorous program of ongoing assessment to improve service delivery and demonstrate institutional impact.
• Oversees the provision of a range of legally-mandated and best practice, curricular and co-curricular services to students with disabilities.
• Collaborates with other campus units to develop innovative approaches and applications of technology and to ensure web accessibility for students with disabilities.

15% - Consultation and Information Dissemination

• Advises and educates regarding disability, barriers, accommodations, and the institution's responsibility for providing access to departments such as academic, housing, and parking offices.
• Through proactive outreach, consultation, and training, fosters an institutional commitment to inclusive design that minimizes the need for individual accommodations to achieve access.
  Disseminates information regarding disability resources and how to access them in accessible format through all institutional channels.

15% - Compliance

• Ensures that the campus complies with obligations under the ADA, Title II, Section 504 & 508 and other relevant state and federal laws and university policies.
• Serves as the campus student program access manager and works strategically and collaboratively with the campus ADA Officer to support strategic ADA compliance.
• Integrates research and evidence-based practice to guide, develop, enhance, and implement a foundational framework for compliance with the ADA, and other related federal and state accessibility regulations.
• Develops and delivers compliance-related workshops and educational programs for faculty, staff, and others toward mitigating risk for the university.

10% - Access and Inclusion

• Works with individual students to identify disability-related barriers and strategies for mitigating the barriers. Consults with faculty members to mitigate disability-related barriers for individual students through design strategies and reasonable accommodations.
• Collaborates with on- and off-campus partners (e.g., admissions, career services, residence life, dining services, library, event management) to address barriers to access identified by students with disabilities.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.
• Significant and progressively responsible management-level experience in a student disability office at a major education institution or working on disability accommodation issues at a research university.
• Thorough knowledge of the legal framework involving accommodations for disabilities through state and federal laws and regulations, including but not limited to ADA, Title II, Section 504 & 508, FEHA, and other relevant state and federal laws and university policies.
• Detailed knowledge of models of disability and inclusive educational design and their applications in higher education; experience in the review and creation of policies, which promote social justice, full inclusive, and equal access in higher education.
• Thorough knowledge of a disability field or fields.
• Thorough knowledge of reasonable accommodations and the interactive process.
• Thorough knowledge of auxiliary services, including but not limited to classroom accommodations, accessible technology, alternative media, exam accommodations, proctoring, captioning, etc.
• Excellent leadership skills with demonstrated ability to lead, motivate and develop staff members.
• Demonstrated skill in supervision including the hiring, training, coaching, evaluation, performance management of professional development of staff.
• Ability to maintain a positive working environment.
• Demonstrated skill and experience in financial analysis, budget planning and resource utilization, including correlating available fiscal resources with departmental programmatic needs.
• Communication and interpersonal skills to engage and collaborate effectively with community and governmental agencies, faculty, staff, senior level executives, students, and alumni from diverse backgrounds.
• Demonstrated skills in independent decision making, including the ability to analyze a complex situation and make a decision of a complicated nature, under pressure, in an environment of constantly changing variables and multi-faceted concerns.
• Excellent cultural fluency.
• Excellent conflict resolution skills.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Selected candidate will be required to pass a pre-employment criminal history background check.
• Selected candidate must pass the employment misconduct disclosure process.
• The selected candidate has the option to work a hybrid work schedule. If a hybrid work schedule is confirmed, the selected candidate must be able to work successfully from a home/remote office and be able to fulfill the requirements of the UCSC telecommuting agreement.
• Selected candidate will be required to complete training within established time frames as directed including UC compliance training.
• Exercise the utmost discretion in managing sensitive information learned in the course of performing their duties. Sensitive information includes but is not limited to employee and student records, health and patient records, financial data, strategic plans, proprietary information and any other sensitive or non-public information learned during the course and scope of employment. Understands that sensitive information should be shared on a limited basis and actively takes steps to limit access to sensitive information to individuals who have legitimate business need to know. Ensure that sensitive information is properly safeguarded. Follow all organizational policies and laws on data protection and privacy. This includes secure handling of physical and digital records and proper usage of IT systems to prevent data leaks. The unauthorized or improper disclosure of confidential work-related information obtained from any source on any work-related matter is a violation of these expectations.
• The University of California has implemented a Vaccination Policy covering all employees. Employees, including new hires, are required to comply with any applicable policies relating to the University of California vaccine program.
• Per the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA), this position has been identified as a Mandated Reporter. The selected candidate will be required to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect as defined by CANRA and will be required to sign a Statement Acknowledging Requirement to Report Child Abuse prior to commencing employment. CANRA Penal Codes, and related definitions, requirements, and responsibilities may be obtained here.

SAFETY STATEMENT

All UCSC employees must understand and follow job safety procedures, attend required health and safety training, proactively promote safety at work, and promptly report actual and potential accidents and injuries.

MISCONDUCT DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

a. "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

- UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

- UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

- Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY

EEO/AA

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status or other protected categories covered by the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.

It is the policy of the University of California to undertake affirmative action and anti-discrimination efforts, consistent with its obligations as a Federal and State contractor.