Dr Paula Dobrowolski
Paula has worked with disabled students at the University for 28 years. From 1994 to 2000, she was the Welfare Officer for students with special needs, before establishing the AccessAbility Centre as a standalone disability service. She has led the Centre since its inception in 2000. Her longevity of service shows commitment to her work with disabled students and the wider University community.
She is a caring person who has an unwavering ability to put herself in other people’s shoes. She never presumes to be the expert but rather takes her lead from those whom she seeks to support.
Over the course of her working life here at the University, Paula has supported hundreds of disabled students, receiving numerous messages of thanks and gestures of appreciation. She also seeks to support staff by advising them on how to support individual disabled students. Paula also works towards a more inclusive educational environment on a campus accessible to all.
Paula was on the board of Trustees of the Disabilities Trust for many years and is currently a director of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in further and higher education.
Paula has shown me that with quiet determination you can bring others along with you rather than hound them into submission! She has inspired me to be patient and more realistic in my outlook, yet at the same time continue with resolve to work for the good of the disability community here at the University.