Roberts, Edward V., 1939-1995.

Edward V. Roberts (1939-1995) contracted poliomyelitis in 1953 at the age of 14. Surviving the disease, he became a respiratory quadriplegic. In 1962, Roberts was the first severely disabled student to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He co-founded the Physically Disabled Students Program (PDSP) at Berkeley in 1970, then expanded the program into the community as the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in 1972. Roberts was appointed director of the California State Department of Rehabilitation in 1975, serving until 1983. Roberts then co-founded the World Institute on Disability (WID), serving as president until his death. Named a MacArthur Fellow from 1985-1989, Roberts used the fellowship funds to make WID an international force in disability rights. Roberts was also involved with Disabled Peoples International (DPI), and served on many disability organizations committees and advisory boards. He was an avid public speaker, advocating for disabled rights through appearances all over the world. Roberts died in 1995, and is remembered as a pioneering activist for disabled peoples rights.

Biography

Edward V. Roberts, 1939-1995, contracted poliomyelitis in 1953 at the age of 14. Surviving the disease, he became a quadriplegic, requiring the use of a respirator (called an iron lung) Roberts taught himself how to swallow air in order to survive outside his iron lung and began to attend classes at Burlingame High School once a week as a senior.

After attending the College of San Mateo, Roberts became the first severely disabled student to live on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley in 1962. To accommodate his respirator, Roberts lived in a ward of Cowell Hospital, the on-campus health center. He relied on a personal attendant during the day. As Roberts completed his BA and MA in political science, he became politically active, promoting disabled people's rights and the independent living movement.

In 1970, Roberts helped found the Physically Disabled Students Program (PDSP), later known as the Disabled Students Program (DSP) at Berkeley to assist disabled students. The program then expanded into the Berkeley community as the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in 1972. Roberts served as Executive Director of the CIL from 1973 to 1975. CIL became the national model for a community-based self-help program directed by people with disabilities for people with disabilities.

Roberts was appointed director of the California Department of Rehabilitation in 1975, serving until 1983. As director, Roberts pioneered in the areas of employment and rehabilitation services for people with severe disabilities, anti-discrimination legislation on the state and national level, and independent living program legislation.

Roberts married Catherine Dugan in 1976. They had a son, Lee, in 1978. Though Roberts and his wife later divorced, Roberts shared custody of his son.

In 1983 Roberts co-founded the World Institute on Disability (WID) in Oakland, California, serving as president until his death in 1995. WID was the first non-profit organization in the world dedicated to the development and advancement of a unified body of public policy on disability issues and public awareness of disability. Roberts was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1984, and used the fellowship funds to found WID.

Roberts was also involved with Disabled Peoples International (DPI) and served on many disability and civil rights organizations, committees and advisory boards. He was an avid public speaker, appearing all over the United States and throughout the world.

Roberts died of a heart attack in 1995, and is remembered as a pioneering activist for the rights of people with disabilities.