Student Disability Services Hires New Director

Student Disability Services has hired Neera Jain as its full-time director.

Jain joined the Office of Student Life in April to lead UCSF’s Student Disability Services office (SDS), after working for five years as assistant director of Disability Services at Columbia University in New York City.  Jain served students at the Columbia University Medical Center campus, where all of Columbia’s health science programs are located.

“Working with graduate and professional students with disabilities is my passion,” she said. “It is both gratifying to work with incredibly talented and driven students, and to be a part of diversifying the face of health care by supporting students who will go on to provide more culturally competent care to people with disabilities.  I am very excited to be here!”

The new SDS office is located at Millberry Union 120 West.

In the coming year, Jain plans to update the SDS website “to make information on the website clear and usable, and most importantly, available 24/7, whenever a student might need it.”

Jain also plans to reach out to students who may not realize SDS can be a source of support and resources. She says people often think of “traditional” disabilities, such as people with visual, hearing, or physical disabilities, but SDS serves students with all types of disabilities, including chronic health conditions, learning disabilities, psychological conditions, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD).

“Most of the students I work with at UCSF have ‘invisible disabilities,’” she said. “You may not be able to pick them out in a classroom, but students should know that they are not alone.”

The Student Disability Services office provides services to registered students with all types of permanent and temporary disabilities.  Services are individually designed to ensure access to all aspects of university life for students with disabilities. Accommodations are determined based on documented need. All information provided to SDS is confidential.

Jain is available upon request to assist students with disabilities in obtaining the services and accommodations needed to access their academic program and other aspects of the UCSF experience.  She encourages students to approach SDS in a timely manner, particularly before  an exam. She cautions that last-minute requests may be difficult to coordinate and that accommodations cannot be considered retroactively.

Finally, Jain wants to hear from UCSF students, faculty, and staff regarding what programming might improve the experience of students with disabilities at UCSF.

“UCSF has a proud history of providing innovative accommodations and services to students with disabilities,” said Jain. “I am very excited to build upon this.”

To make an appointment, contact (415) 476-4318 or Office.StudentLife@ucsf.edu

SDS office: Millberry Union 120 West.

URL: sds.ucsf.edu

Email: neera.jain@ucsf.edu

Telephone: Contact Neera Jain at (415)  476-6595