{"id":64823,"date":"2009-06-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/accessible-rhode-island-honors-uri-capital-projects-director-with-quality-of-life-award\/"},"modified":"2009-06-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-23T00:00:00","slug":"accessible-rhode-island-honors-uri-capital-projects-director-with-quality-of-life-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2009\/06\/accessible-rhode-island-honors-uri-capital-projects-director-with-quality-of-life-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessible Rhode Island honors 溏心vlog免费B站 capital projects director with Quality of Life Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 June 23, 2009 \u2013 Accessible Rhode Island presented its Quality of Life Award last month to Paul M. DePace, director of capital projects at the 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n


\n\tThe announcement of the award recipient coincided with the release of Accessible Rhode Island\u2019s 7th Annual Guide to Rhode Island for People with Disabilities. An international leader of the Paralympic Games movement, DePace was honored for his ardent support of initiatives for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n


\n\tMarie and Don Perna of Accessible Rhode Island said DePace has been at the forefront of efforts to improve access.

\n \u201cWe are honored to have Paul DePace receive our Quality of Life Award for 2009,\u201d said Don Perna. \u201cPaul worked tirelessly on behalf of persons with disabilities and exemplifies perfectly everything that Accessible Rhode Island stands for and tries to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nDePace has been on the University staff since 1977, and in the last 15 years, he has played a pivotal role in some of the largest building projects in the University\u2019s history, including the Ryan Center, three new residence halls, a new dining hall, a new home for the College of Business Administration, the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences and a new Alumni Center. As director of capital projects, DePace is responsible for all phases of major building projects at 溏心vlog免费B站. He has ensured that all new and renovated facilities meet all state and federal standards for accessibility.<\/p>\n


\nThe East Greenwich resident was paralyzed in a car accident in 1967. He began competing as a wheelchair athlete in 1968, the year he earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in engineering from 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n


\nHe said he was humbled to be honored by Accessible Rhode Island.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cWith minimal resources, Accessible Rhode Island does an outstanding job providing individuals with disabilities information about all of the recreational and cultural opportunities in the state,\u201d DePace said. \u201cMarie and Don Perna work hard to assemble and share information about opportunities that are accessible to Rhode Islanders with disabilities. Ease of access is always a critical issue, whether it is at 溏心vlog免费B站 or one of the state\u2019s museums.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cDon and Marie know we are all enriched when everyone has access to concerts, exhibits and parks,\u201d DePace said. \u201cThey have always put together a great manual, and they have done it all as volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nIn his remarks during the ceremonies, DePace recognized individuals who have been among the leaders in the accessibility movement.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI have truly just been a bit player in the movement,\u201d he said. \u201cThe real stars were people like the late Ed Schroeder, assistant vice president at the University and chairman of the then governor\u2019s Committee for Employment of the Handicapped who also recruited me back to the University.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nDuring his senior year, DePace focused on important civil rights issues that arose in the 1960s. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cPersons with disabilities came to understand that these rights were also theirs and they had the opportunity to change things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n


\nDePace said there was a group in the state working to improve access, including transportation, employment and housing. \u201cI have been fortunate to be involved with a number dedicated individuals who have been at the forefront of this movement.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThat group developed the PARI Independent Living Center, Independence Square, low- cost, quality office space for non-profits, and the Independent Living Authority, which built three apartment houses, one in Pawtucket, North Providence and Providence.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cWorking in the disability movement has gotten me into sports around the nation and around the world. I gained a great deal from working with these groups. It\u2019s exciting that the work continues and I continue to be involved in it. It\u2019s my responsibility to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nDePace is a member of Wheelchair Sports, USA Hall of Fame and the Rhode Island Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame. Here are some highlights of his service on behalf of wheelchair athletes:<\/p>\n


\n\u2022 U.S Olympic Committee, Board of Directors, 1988-2003;

\n\u2022 Chef de Mission for the U.S. team in Barcelona, Spain, 1992 IX Paralympics;

\n\u2022 International Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Sports Federation, vice president and president, 1998 through 2003;

\n\u2022 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation, executive committee, 2003-present;

\n\u2022 Atlanta Paralympic Games (1996) Organizing Committee;

\n\u2022 Wheelchair Sports, USA, chairman, 1998-2003.<\/p>\n


\nPictured above

\nHIGH QUALITY: Paul M. DePace, director of capital projects at the 溏心vlog免费B站, front, poses with Don and Marie Perna of Accessible Rhode Island after they presented the organization\u2019s Quality of Life Award to DePace. Photo courtesy Accessible Rhode Island. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 June 23, 2009 \u2013 Accessible Rhode Island presented its Quality of Life Award last month to Paul M. DePace, director of capital projects at the 溏心vlog免费B站. The announcement of the award recipient coincided with the release of Accessible Rhode Island\u2019s 7th Annual Guide to Rhode Island for People […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}