The WHA is taking steps to improve accessibility services offered at our annual conference. Please notify the WHA office by email at wha@westernhistory.org or by phone at 785-864-0860 with any accessibility needs or requests by September 12.

You may also note any requests on the physical and/or online registration form.

Please read below for more ways the WHA is working to expand accessibility. This is work that needs to and will continue beyond the year of 2022. The items we will be able to accomplish for this year will create the foundation on which to build upon in the future.

Visiting San Antonio

Airport Accessibility

The San Antonio airport follows ADA requirements and provides facilities including automatic doors, crosswalks, curb cuts, ramped access, level flooring, entrances, and elevators designed to help everyone move through the facility safely and efficiently. Braille buttons are located in elevators and outside all doors/emergency exists. Airline ticket counters, point-of-sale counters, restrooms, drinking fountains, ATMs, and public seating areas are accessible. You can learn more about airport accessibility via their website.

The San Antonio Riverwalk

The City of San Antonio and the businesses along the Riverwalk have gone to great lengths to ensure disability access at numerous locations along the river. Elevators and ramps are located at key points to provide access for all who want to visit. You can find a Riverwalk Access Map here.

The Hyatt Riverwalk

The Hyatt is ADA compliant and staff is available to assist with accessibility needs. Please contact the hotel for questions about accessibility at the conference, and be sure to provide the WHA with accessibility needs and requests by September 12th.

At the Conference

Large-Print Programs

Large-Print programs will be available on a limited basis by request only. Please send your request to our office before September 12 and make plans to pick it up at the registration desk in San Antonio. (This is for requests for the printed conference program *and* the printed awards program.)

Personal Assistants or Interpreters

Any personal assistants or interpreters needed for accessibility purposes will receive complimentary conference registration. Please notify the office so the WHA staff can have a registration packet ready at on-site registration for them.

If you have any immediate needs or requests during the conference, please stop at the registration desk and we will have staff onsite to assist you.

WHA Accessibility Policy

This page is an example of the WHA's first steps in a process that will improve accessibility at the conference and in the association. The WHA Council is currently drafting a "WHA Accessibility Statement" to review at the Fall 2022 Council Meeting. They will offer an update on this statement at the 2022 WHA Business Meeting. In addition to this statement, which is long overdue, the office is working in other ways to meet basic accessibility needs and improve on these each year.

This includes, but is not limited to, the availability of accessible printed materials, invitations/access to the conference for assistants and interpreters, training on accessibility for the graduate staff, and providing ample information about accessibility features. We are also exploring our budget to secure text-to-speech for the WHA Presidential Address and the availability of table mics in San Antonio.

The WHA is grateful to the advocacy, dedication, and work of our members who bring these issues to the forefront of the WHA's short and long-term initiatives. Thank you for your patience as we make an institutional shift to become a more accessible--and therefore inclusive--organization.