DSU Interview: Daniel Van Sant

Daniel Van Sant: Moving accessibility forward.

“I’m very proud to continue working on that Legacy and to carry it forward.”

When we think about a senator from Iowa being involved in what is the largest piece of civil rights legislation for people with disabilities, it’s an overwhelming sense of pride. At The Harkin Institute on Drake University Campus in Des Moines, Iowa, Daniel Van Sant works as the Director of Disability Policy.

People might not know this, but Senator Harkin was the lead sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act that was passed in 1990. Tom Harkin was inspired by his brother Frank, who was Deaf. He tells the story seeing the gap in opportunity that was presented to Frank versus opportunities presented to him. The career paths that were open to the two brothers were very different at the time. That inspired Senator Harkin to think about the disability community when he was in a place of power, and he was able to do something about it. Van Sant believes there is a powerful message here around allyship.

“I’m very proud to continue working on that Legacy and to carry it forward…The ADA is something that I don’t take for granted. I appreciate carrying forward this mission every day that I’m here in the office.”

The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center was created with Universal Design principles. Organizers took advantage of the unique opportunity to build from the ground up with new construction. They assembled an advisory committee made up of people with disabilities across the disability spectrum. With this type of valuable consultation, they we were able to include proven helpful features taking various disabilities into account.

You will see things like a variety of seating in most spaces, including seats that are different heights, seats that move, and seats that have arms or do not have arms on their sides. You will find height adjustable tables and desks.

You will see that it is a wide-open space with visual access throughout. If you need to sign across distances, there are features to enable this communication. The center has strategically placed physical objects – either walls or furniture or more permanent pieces – to give navigation points for people that maybe are blind or visually impaired and need something permanent and physical for navigation.

To learn more from Daniel and about The Harkin Institute, watch the full interview on the DSU YouTube channel.

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