Office of Accessible Education Leadership Unclear as Director and Assistant Director Announce Departure

A student stands at the vacant front desk of the Office of Accessible Education. (Dylan Ryu/The Santa Clara)

Santa Clara University’s Inclusive Excellence Division announced that Office of Accessible Education Director James Marik and Assistant Director Heather Stephan have transitioned out of their leadership roles. The update was released in the latest inclusive excellence newsletter, sent Feb. 6. 

No successors or interim staff for the vacant positions were acknowledged in the message, nor was a reason given for the dual departure. The newsletter message was the first public alert given to students concerning the transition.  

“We greatly appreciate their commitment to our students and to the Office of Accessible Education and wish them the best in their future endeavors,” read the email. As of Friday, Feb. 6, students utilizing the OAE have not been contacted about any potential changes to student services or plans for leadership going forward. 

The OAE provides services such as academic accommodations, event accessibility and disability-related programming for all undergraduate, graduate and law students, per their website. They also provide consultation hours to all faculty seeking assistance on accommodation efforts.

Prior to the departures, the OAE was helmed by seven full-time staff members, providing service to over 1000 University students.