AEC is pleased to announce the 2019 Faculty Excellence in Universal Design winner: Megan Austin

Megan Austin is a Legal Studies Instructor and Law Instruction Librarian. Universal design supports course access without the need for accommodations and the understanding that learner variability is the norm and not an exception. Megan has shown dedication to sharing Universal Design for Learning with colleagues to encourage teaching the discipline of Law with a diversity of learners in mind. Megan Austin puts Universal Design to work by embracing multiple modes of representation, action and expression, and engagement. For example, Megan creates original, interactive note-taking workbooks to support student engagement and comprehension. Megan’s use of media demonstrations includes multiple modes of representation and perception that support the engagement of students with strengths in visual and auditory processing. Megan recruit student interest and persistence by incorporating content from and connections to real-life legal issues and problems that students might encounter in their lives and professional practice. Megan is aware of and responsive to the physical design of classrooms to support the comfort and inclusion of all students. This award celebrates innovative course design that recognizes disability as an important aspect of diversity and inclusion. Universal Design for Learning embraces learner variability as the norm and reduces the need for specialized accommodations in the classroom. Please refer to AEC’s website for faculty guidance on Universal Design and Best Practices for inclusive teaching: https://aec.uoregon.edu/faculty-resource-universal-design-learning