Innovative program to remove barriers garners award for Trulaske faculty member

At an early age, Angela Knoerr observed that she had specific learning needs. Processing new input was sometimes challenging for her, but she could master it when given the opportunity to ask questions. Armed with that first-hand understanding and experience of what it meant to have unique learning needs, Knoerr set out to help remove barriers for other learners.

As an instructional technologist with the University of Missouri’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, Knoerr developed an innovative program that helps participants discover for themselves what it’s like to be a differently abled student in a classroom setting. Knoerr’s “Creating Faculty Accessibility Advocates” program uses kits containing eye masks, ear plugs, and stress balls to simulate disabilities and build empathy for students with accessibility needs. 

“You have to have an experience,” Knoerr said. “Whether it’s a friend, whether it’s a co-worker, whether it’s a family member, you have to have an experience with disabilities to internalize these things. It’s a moment to ask yourself, how can I support the learner here?” 

While it’s important for students to advocate for themselves about their individual needs, she said, educators should come prepared to meet them halfway in those conversations. Knoerr hopes the program will inspire educators to be proactive, rather than reactive, about removing barriers to learning and making accommodations available for students.

“If we could change those things we’d have better outcomes for our disabled population,” she said.

Parents of children with autism, visual and hearing impairments, and other special needs deserve to have a village supporting them, Knoerr said. Through advocacy, outreach and the simple act of teaching empathy, she hopes to help Mizzou be that village. 

“We want to send our kids out into a kinder, gentler world than the one that we were in,” Knoerr said. “And we want students to know that your being here matters.”

Knoerr’s work recently earned her the Lee Henson Access Mizzou Award, an honor that recognizes those who have exceeded expectations in effectively addressing disability-related needs on campus, advocated for universal design and environments that are supportive of people with disabilities, and demonstrated a lasting commitment to enhancing accessibility at Mizzou. The award, which is presented each year in September in honor of Disability Culture Month, was named in recognition of Mizzou’s former ADA Coordinator, Lee Henson, who served the university for 20 years before his death in 2014.

Drew Reeves, Trulaske’s director of Transformative Technology for Business & Society, nominated Knoerr for the honor, noting that rather than waiting for the compliance deadlines that are in place for 2026, Knoerr created and implemented the “Creating Faculty Accessibility Advocates” program to proactively build a culture of advocacy and empathy for students with accessibility needs. 

“Her work combines innovative program design, faculty development, and national engagement to foster a culture of accessibility,” Reeves wrote in his nomination. “Her approach emphasizes awareness, understanding, and action, positioning Trulaske as a leader in accessibility before it becomes a national mandate.”

Knoerr has strategically reached individuals who are in a position to amplify accessibility awareness and practices, creating a multiplier effect beyond her direct audience. 

“By using a ‘train the trainer’ approach, Angela has laid the groundwork for these efforts to multiply across courses, institutions, and professional networks,” Reeves said.

Knoerr hopes that championing this effort from within the Trulaske College of Business will also help educate and empower future business leaders to develop a better understanding of the audiences they serve. By training a faculty member to deliver the program in BA1500, she helps educate around a thousand business students each year. By taking into account the various needs of their consumers, Knoerr said, future business leaders can tailor their goods, programs, marketing and services to reach wider audiences.

“Be innovative in creating products, services and technology. If we can look at and tap all these services, we increase our bottom line,” Knoerr pointed out. “You’re going to get more of the market share if you can make sure everyone is included.”

Knoerr admits that at times, advocating for increased accommodations has felt like swimming upstream, especially as she waited for technology to catch up. But she was always committed to staying on that journey.

“I think I have a dogged personality,” she said. “I’m a very positive person. I don’t hear ‘no.’ I hear ‘try again later.’”

Knoerr says she was honored and humbled to be recognized for her work and hopes that it will encourage even more participation in the program.

“If we can be in the business of removing barriers for all students, we win.”

Interested in participating in the “Creating Faculty Accessibility Advocates” program? Email Knoerr at knoerram@missouri.edu.

Mizzou’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business prepares students for success as global citizens, business leaders, scholars, innovators and entrepreneurs by providing access to transformative technologies, offering experience-centered learning opportunities and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.