Kuttai Honored With U of S President's Service Award

Posted May 15, 2002


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 15, 2002 2002-05-16-OTHER

KUTTAI HONORED WITH U OF S PRESIDENT'S SERVICE AWARD

Heather Kuttai, the University of Saskatchewan's Director of Disability
Services for Students, is being honored with the U of S President's Service
Award at Spring Convocation 2002.

Kuttai was nominated by co-workers, and received glowing endorsements from
students, staff and faculty for the qualities she has brought to the
University since she became the first occupant of her office in 1994. They
praise her as dedicated, understanding, compassionate, responsive,
insightful, creative, practical, fair, enthusiastic, and showing great
leadership and warmth.

One co-worker said, "Heather's dedication and commitment are boundless. She
leads through inspiration, support and respect for others, which has earned
her national acknowledgement for the service and initiatives she has
provided." All who work with Kuttai note she goes the extra mile to help
students succeed in their programs, and to help faculty and staff appreciate
how a bit of accommodation on their part can provide an equal opportunity to
higher education for a student with a disability.

Kuttai has firsthand experience of the challenges faced by students with
disabilities. A wheelchair user since the age of 6, when an injury damaged
her spinal cord, Kuttai graduated from the U of S in 1994 with a BA in
Sociology. That year she was hired to start the Office of Disability
Services for Students.

In the eight years since then there has been tremendous growth in services.
She has developed a small staff and the number of students being helped has
shot up from 50 in 1994 to about 750 today. The list of initiatives Kuttai
has developed is long, and includes: an exam accommodation program, a
note-taking program, library assistance, academic support groups for
students with learning disabilities, an accessibility inventory of campus,
Disability Awareness Week at the U of S, and a mentoring program. Kuttai
also works to integrate students with disabilities into larger campus
programs, such as the annual fall Orientation. Highlights of her U of S
career include the Board of Governors' adoption in 1997 of a University
policy for students with disabilities and her production in 1999 and 2000 of
two videos, "Teaching Students With Disabilities" and "Faces of Diversity",
which have become invaluable tools for raising awareness, and which she has
shown at talks across North America and as far away as Austria. Last year
Kuttai won the "Excellence in Service to Students with Disabilities" award
from the Canadian Association of Disability Service Providers in
Post-Secondary Education.

Not stopping at that, she has been a world-class member of Canada's
wheelchair target-shooting team, winning medals in the 1988 and 1992
Paralympics in Seoul and Barcelona. She is now in the running to compete in
the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.

Kuttai's real target at the U of S is how well she helps students succeed in
their University experience. And they say she's hitting the mark. As one
student put it: "She has made it possible for me to flourish in my academic
career ... I can safely say I would not be where I am today without her
assistance, guidance and support."

The President's Service Award recognizes exceptional contributions by
non-academic U of S staff. It includes a $1,000 prize and a commemorative
ring or pin.

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For more information, please contact:

Bev Dickinson
Chair of the President's Service Award Selection Committee
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-6282