Over Homecoming Weekend, the IOD's Dan Habib received the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) Humanitarian Service Award. Habib received the award for his work to inspire inclusivity for all people, including individuals living with disabilities.
“I am honored to receive this award from the University of Michigan,” said Habib. “My time as an undergraduate there taught me the critical thinking and research that I use daily to build the compelling bodies of evidence I highlight in my films.”
The Humanitarian Service award is the LSA’s most prestigious alumni accolade which annually honors outstanding alumni who work around the globe to fight disease, defend human rights, and improve education, along with a host of other important causes. You can read more about Dan Habib’s honor and view his acceptance video.
Dan Habib is the creator of the award-winning documentary films Including Samuel, Who Cares About Kelsey?, and Restraint and Seclusion: Hear Our Stories and uses them to lead discussions across the country about the challenges and benefits of inclusive education and related topics. In addition to this honor, Habib received the 2012 Champion of Human and Civil Rights Award from the NEA New Hampshire (National Education Association) and the 2013 Justice for All Grassroots Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities. In November 2013, Habib delivered a TEDx talk titled "Disabling Segregation" on the benefits of inclusion to students without disabilities and was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities—a committee that promotes policies and initiatives that support independence and lifelong inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities—in 2014.
