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Making PTS More Accessible

Seven new disability signs have been added to the PTS campus, with hopes of more accessibility for the physically disabled who attend or visit the Seminary.

These signs can be found to the right of the main entrances of the Administration Building, the Mackay Campus Center, Templeton Hall, Stuart Hall, Speer Library, Tennent Hall, and, in the near future, Miller Chapel. They will help anyone who is disabled to locate accessible entrances, restrooms, elevators, TTY/TTD (teletypewriter/telecommunication device for the deaf) telephones, and more. The signs are pictographic with some text.

According to Ginny Thornburgh, a PTS trustee and mother of a disabled son, “A sign is proof that the Seminary cares and welcomes all people, with or without a disability.” Her hopes are that this will help PTS “to recruit faculty, staff, and qualified students with disabilities,” as well as “to better equip future religious leaders to serve, and serve with, people with disabilities in churches and in communities.”

Also new to the campus is a permanent TTY/TTD telephone at the main switchboard, which will receive incoming calls from individuals who need to contact particular offices. A portable TTY/TTD will then be hooked up in the office that needs to receive the call. This enables a two-way conversation to take place.

In addition, TTY/TTD telephone keyboards are installed on five public telephones throughout the campus. These telephones are located in Tennent Hall, Speer Library, Stuart Hall, the Mackay Campus Center, and Templeton Hall.

These changes are a result of an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) audit done five years ago, and a subsequent master plan for implementing changes at PTS.