25 Years of Progress, One Goal: Greater Inclusion for People with Disabilities

By Cassidy Lowman ’27, Student Correspondent

Keith Williams G’09 knows exactly what it means to live up to the Ignatian mission of being “men and women for others.” He’s dedicated nearly 40 years of his life to public service — advocating for people with disabilities and promoting justice in his community.

For a quarter century, Williams has seen firsthand how The University of Scranton’s U.S. Conference on Disability has grown from a local event to a nationally recognized forum on inclusion. Williams was one of the conference’s earliest supporters, attending all but one conference since it began in 2002. As someone with a physical disability who has also worked for over 35 years in disability advocacy and outreach, Williams reflects on the significant advancements made in accessibility and looks to the road ahead in areas where barriers remain and progress is still needed.

Echoing this year’s theme, “25 Years of Progress: Honoring the Legacy of Edward R. Leahy, Jr.,” Williams highlights the tremendous advancements made to make public areas more accessible to people with disabilities, especially in his Scranton community.

“I’ve seen a lot of positive changes. There are now curb cuts on sidewalks, accessible facilities within buildings and visual and audio street signals for those who have a visual or hearing impairment,” he said. “All of these are examples of barriers that have been removed.”

While celebrating these improvements, it’s important to acknowledge that there is still more work to be done.

Williams, who is the manager at the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Grant and Advocacy at My Center for Independent Living (MyCIL) in Scranton, says equal access to employment remains one of the biggest hurdles on the path to inclusion for people with disabilities.

People with disabilities continue to experience disproportionately high unemployment rates despite greater access to education and workforce training. It's rather ironic, Williams noted, that a direct result of progress — those with disabilities today have more access to education and training than those in the past — also comes with unemployment rates that don’t reflect the institutional improvements.

The University’s U.S. Conference on Disability brings advocates, educators and community members together to learn from one another and advance disability inclusion.

In addition to numerous lectures and panels spanning business, education, healthcare and entertainment, the event also features an awards presentation. At the 2025 conference, Williams was presented with the Edward R. Leahy, Jr., Award for Excellence in Leadership and Advocacy because of his lifelong commitment to public service.

"One of the things I admire about them is that they understand these issues from a personal level,” he said of the event's founders, Edward '68, H'01 and Patricia Leahy. “They were able to apply their experiences and familiarity with disability issues and make a world class conference from that. They’re passionate about equal access under the law, and particularly access to education and employment.”

When attending conferences such as this, Williams, because of his work and his own life experiences, is uniquely qualified to assess how a conference assesses inclusion from multiple perspectives.

"It’s always interesting to see if the message that is getting across applies to both populations, rather than one more than another. And at The University of Scranton, it does,” Williams said. “It does because many of the themes that the conference has presented over the years are all about empowerment; helping to empower people with disabilities, planning their careers and their goals and the steps they can take to achieve these goals.”

Significant progress had been made in promoting inclusion of the disability community since the Conference’s first forum in 2002. Although the fight for inclusion continues, the University is a leading institution spearheading these initiatives.

With more resources now than ever before, there are many different avenues one can take to educate themselves on disability inclusion and work toward a more equitable society.

“Whether it’s in a formal setting, like the University’s Conference, or a few people having an informal meeting, we have to get the word out about disability legislation and the laws that are out there,” Williams said. “We really need to reshape the way that people think, and that comes from constant education. Educate, educate, educate.”