Work on ableism in academia at Kent began in CSHE with Dr Nicole Brown’s PhD ‘The I in Fibromyalgia: The Construction of Academic Identity’ supervised by Dr Jennifer Leigh. A prize-winning research student, Dr Brown led the first Ableism in Academia Event, which was co-organised by Dr Leigh. The event was supported by the Universities of Kent, Leeds, and Nottingham, the NADSN, Chronically Academic and University College London. Further research has led to changes in practice and policy at Kent and other institutions. In 2020/21 two books are due to be published Lived experiences of ableism in academia: Strategies for inclusion in higher education edited by Nicole Brown from Policy Press; and Ableism in academia: Theorising experiences of disabilities and chronic illnesses in higher education edited by Nicole Brown and Jennifer Leigh from UCL Press.
The link to the free download for the ableism book can be found here https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/123203