Kessler Receives Statewide Award for Work in Access

The North Carolina Association on Higher Education and Disability has given its Pat Bailey Award to Jim Kessler, director of the department of disability services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Pat Bailey Award was established in 2007 in honor of Pat Bailey, the director of disability services at UNC-Greensboro for many years and the group’s founding president. The award recognizes an individual who has worked to further the rights, dignity and access for students with disabilities.

Kessler has a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Louisville and a master’s degree in rehabilitation from Western Michigan University. He has worked at Carolina and the department since 1982.

The disabilities services department works with departments throughout the University to assure that the programs and facilities of the University are accessible to every student in the University community. This summer, disability services will officially change its name to the department of accessibility resources and services.