Disability advocate Lex Frieden will present a program April 28, 1997, at 9:30 a.m. in the Kellogg Center as part of the All-University Excellence in Diversity Lecture Series. Frieden, a senior vice president at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) in Houston, Texas, is also professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine. A quadriplegic due to spinal injury, Frieden has been involved in the organization of several groups of disabled individuals, including the Americal Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities and the Houston Coalition for Barrier Free Living. Frieden has received two presidential citations for his work in the field of disability. From 1984 to 1988, Frieden served as executive director or the National Council on the Handicapped (now the National Council on Disability), an independent federal agency located in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, he was instrumental in conceiving and drafting the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.
The program, titled, \Education as a Path for Independence: How Conscious and Unconscious Cultural Attitudes about People with Disabilities Inhibit Personal and Institutional Growth," is cosponsored by the Office of Programs for Handicapper Students and the All- University Excellence in Diversity Committee.
All students are invited to attend the morning presentation. Refreshments will be available from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Afternoon activities are co-sponsored by MSU's Rehabilitation Education and Change as well as several other organizations. The title of the afternoon program, which includes a luncheon program and reception is "Independent Living for the New MILlennium: Proud of Our Past & Celebrating Our Future."
Afternoon speakers include Duncan Wyeth, Lex Frieden, Len Sawisch and Lynn Jondahl.