Language Access Awareness Month and Training Opportunities

April 24, 2026

At the University of Rhode Island, our commitment to promoting equal opportunity for all goes beyond compliance, it is a foundational value that shapes how we serve our community.

As we recognize April as Language Access Awareness Month, we reaffirm the importance of ensuring that everyone can access services, activities, and information in a language they understand. This includes providing interpretation and translation services upon request for people who speak languages other than English and offering American Sign Language interpretation and CART Services upon request.

This Language Access Awareness Month, the Office of Equal Opportunity invites you to review the Language Access tab and the resources available to support you and your team as you make efforts to promote meaningful language access.

The website includes:

  • Guidance for those administering language access requests.
    A. Language Access Policy
    B. Language Access Plan
  • Vendors for Interpretation and Translation Services
  • Sign Language Interpreter and Captioning Request Forms
  • Policy on Nondiscrimination
  • I Speak Cards
  • Quality Assurance Practices Guide

The Division of Administration and Finance is partnering with the Division of Research and Economic Development to host an in-person training session on the topic of administering reasonable accommodations in research. This training, which is available to principal investigators and all key personnel, is being offered as part of the Responsible Conduct of Research Series and requires registration.

Training Information

Date: May 6, 2026
Time: 2-3 p.m.
Host: Elizabeth Buchanan, associate vice president for research administration
Presenter: Jake Avakian, business analyst, Office of Equal Opportunity
Q&A: Dorca P. Smalley, director, Office of Equal Opportunity
Audience: Principal investigators and all key personnel
Registration Link: https://web.uri.edu/research-admin/integrity-security/research-conduct/rcr-seminars/ 

Please join us to learn more about the interplay between reasonable accommodations and language access requests, which are essential to meaningful engagement across our campus.

If you can’t attend this training, but require technical assistance or wish to schedule a training session on this or other civil rights compliance topics, please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity.