Carolina People: Tiffany Bailey

Tiffany Bailey
Director of equal opportunity and Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator
UNC Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance
11 years at Carolina

You recently began a new role. What were you doing before and how did that prepare you for your new job?

Prior to this role, I was the director of Accessibility Resources and Service and Section 504 coordinator for students in UNC Student Affairs. I have worked a lot with student accommodations and access initiatives campus-wide in that role, and my current role is a continuation of that but with a broader scope. When I began my journey at Carolina, I served as assistant director in ARS and became director of the office in June of 2013. I was director until my transition into this role at the end of June.

From my previous roles, I know the parameters of the applicable laws pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504. But having the experience of working with many students and colleagues across campus regarding accessibility helped prepare me for my current role.

I’m thrilled about this role because of my history at Carolina, and I know what to expect when it comes to my duties. I feel confident in my team’s ability to address broader accessibility on campus. I’m also super excited to pivot and do more work with employee accommodations and the equal opportunity functions of my role, which are new to me, while supporting my passion for diversity and inclusion.

Describe your current job. What does a typical day look like?

My day-to-day usually includes a lot of meetings and emails with employees or supervisors related to employee accommodation requests. I’m also meeting with my team, both the accommodations team, the broader EOC team, and with campuswide colleagues on topics related to supporting employees and students at Carolina.

I often go on site visits to places on campus to gain more insight into what a person is experiencing with certain accessibility accommodations and to inform my team of how we are going to be moving forward with accommodations. In addition, I work collaboratively with campuswide colleagues on access initiatives and other requests to help make the campus more accessible for all members of the campus community.

How does your work support the University’s mission?

There are many areas where equal opportunity and compliance, especially what I do in the area of accommodations, go directly into the strategic framework of Carolina. What my role specifically does is ensure equal access and equitable opportunities for applicants, employees and the larger campus community.

As we support the University’s mission surrounding public service, we are always thinking of ways to support members of the campus community and forecast what the next steps are regarding particular requests or concerns while working to ensure accessibility at Carolina.

What is important to you, in life and in work?

What’s most important to me are people — how you’re supporting people, how they feel during an interaction with you or if they feel heard. I always want people to feel like they have been heard and for them to know why I’ve made a certain decision while ensuring that I’m maintaining a sense of transparency during decision-making processes.

I’m a big fan of bridge building, and it’s so important for us to work collaboratively to support each other and the work we do in this community. I also think that it’s important to focus on framing disability as a part of diversity and to acknowledge that accessibility does not equal equality. Bringing this to the forefront of my work is key.

When you’re not working, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Outside of work, I love spending time with my family. I have a partner, nine-year-old daughter and two dogs. I’m a big dog lover! I really like to garden and listen to true-crime podcasts. I also like to put puzzles together, including complex puzzles. I find them really relaxing and calming.