Officials this academic year doubled the number of Disability Support Services staff, hiring four graduate student employees and filling three vacancies after about half of the office’s 11-member staff left between 2019 and 2023.
The number of office staff grew from seven personnel in June to 14 personnel by November for the 2024-25 academic year, with officials filling three vacancies and adding four student employees. The hires came after about half of DSS’s 11-member staff left the office between 2019 and 2023, reporting feeling strained by a low budget for the unit and expanded responsibilities after leadership turnover.
Students said last year that staff vacancies limited resources available to graduate and undergraduate students and created scheduling delays for students looking to meet with personnel.
Former DSS Director Maggie Butler stepped down in September 2023 after some former staffers said they were “overburdened” under her leadership, and officials hired Rochelle Mills to serve as the office’s director after officials hired her in January. Mills formerly worked as Assistant Director at New York University’s Center for Student Accessibility, where she created a task force to establish ASL and captioning services at NYU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
All of the office’s vacancies now appear to be filled except for the assistant director position, according to DSS’s website, although officials took down the position listing on their hiring website between Oct. 28 and Nov. 1. University spokesperson Julia Metjian declined to comment on the position’s hiring status because the University “does not discuss detailed operational changes such as staffing for a specific role.”
Metjian declined to comment if the office is currently fully staffed, when officials filled vacancies and if the office’s increased number of staff in the department since 2022-23 helped the office serve students’ needs. Metjian said the DSS office works to ensure DSS is staffed by team members with “specialized skills and expertise” to help serve the student population.
“The University is diligent about hiring the right professionals with demonstrated experience and a commitment to providing resources grounded in evidence-based practices to support GW students with disabilities,” Metjian said in an email.
Officials also hired four graduate students as student employees of the office earlier this year, according to the office’s website. The office didn’t employ student employees prior to this year, according to internet archives. The four employees did not return requests for comment.
Officials updated the DSS office website with four staff members between June 15 and July 22, including the posting of former Assistant Director Desirée Foster-Jackson, according to internet archives. Officials have removed Foster-Jackson from the DSS website after Aug. 16.
