Dr. Derek Coates is a 22-year employee of U.C. Berkeley and has used a Service dog since 2012. He has been legally blind for more than 40 years.
Dr. Coates is currently the campus Manager of ADA Program Access in the office of Disability Access and Compliance. Most recently, Dr. Coates was the Project Lead on the Access 2020 campuswide program access Self-evaluation and training project. With two Master’s Degrees in Sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the California State University, at Fullerton Dr. Coates received his Ph. D in Sociology from Wayne State University in 2003. In 2003, Dr. Coates was hired as an Ed Roberts Postdoctoral Fellow in Disability Studies at U.C. Berkeley from a National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research grant.
Dr. Coates began his career at U.C. Berkeley in 2004 when he was hired as the campus Disability Resolution Officer, tasked with resolving and investigating allegations of discrimination on the basis of disability filed by students and members of the public. He served as the primary point of contact for all disability-related program and physical access issues and concerns. In 2006, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau awarded Dr. Coates a Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award as a member of the "WebAccess" team that collaboratively conducted outreach to web builders and designers campuswide by hosting technical website accessibility clinics. In 2008, Dr. Coates was awarded a U.C. Berkeley Institute for Leadership and Development (BILD) grant and created the first Disabled Staff Resource Network in the University of California system, a pre-cursor to the current Staff Alliance for Disability Access (SADA) staff organization for employees with disabilities and their allies.
In 2010, Dr. Coates was hired as the Discrimination Complaint Resolution Coordinator for the UC Berkeley Central Human Resources unit, tasked with resolving and investigating allegations of discrimination on all protected classes (except Title IX) filed by University employees.
In 2012 Dr. Coates received his first guide dog service animal from Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael named Largo, an 85-pound Labrador Retriever. In 2014, Dr. Coates was appointed to be the Interim Disability Compliance Officer in the Office of Ethics Risk and Compliance Services reporting to the Associate Chancellor. In 2016, Dr. Coates was appointed to be the campus Disability Compliance Officer.
In 2017, Dr. Coates was awarded a SPOT award from the Chancellors Outstanding Staff Achievement Award committee to acknowledge and reward his exceptional performance and leadership in producing a disability awareness screening on Asian suicide and mental health. In 2018, Dr. Coates was awarded a second SPOT award from the Chancellors Outstanding Staff Achievement Award committee to acknowledge and reward his exceptional performance and leadership for service to both the Graduate Division and the Parking and Transportation unit. In 2018, Dr. Coates was awarded a STAR award for invaluable contributions to the Ethics, Risk & Compliance Services office by the Associate Chancellor and Chief of Staff to the Chancellor.
At the end of 2018, Dr. Coates joined the office of Disability Access and Compliance as the Manager of Program Access.
My message to you:
After resolving hundreds of ADA discrimination complaints filed by disabled students at UC Berkeley, I say:
“You were not admitted to the university because you have a disability, you were admitted because you successfully competed against your peers and were determined qualified and worthy of an opportunity to earn a college degree with accommodations from the top Public university in the United States.”
After resolving ADA discrimination complaints filed by disabled employees at UC Berkeley, I say:
"We include and excel together, We imagine and innovate, We simplify, We are accountable to each other, We focus on service, and “YOU were not hired at UC Berkeley because you have a disability, you were hired because you successfully competed against exceptional highly qualified peers and were determined equally qualified and able to contribute to the University pursuit of excellence in research, teaching, and public service with or without accommodation.”
– Derek Coates
