SDS (San Diego State) Universe

March 3, 2008

In Memoriam: Elizabeth "Betty" Bacon

Elizabeth "Betty" BaconElizabeth (Betty) Bacon, former director of Disabled Student Services and disability rights activist, passed away on Feb. 24 after a brief illness. She was 61.

Bacon received her bachelor's degree in psychology and her master's degree in counseling from San Jose State University. Before arriving at San Diego State University, she was a specialist in the Disabled Students Program at the University of California, Berkeley. She joined with other activists in the Bay Area to promote the independent living movement and agitate for civil rights for persons with disabilities. By the time she took her position at SDSU, she had been schooled in the strategies necessary for growing the program from about 100 students in 1975 to 1,000 students when she resigned in 2000.

During this time, Bacon's expertise was sought at local, state and national levels. She served on the CSU chancellor's office advisory committee on services to students with disabilities and chaired the directors' group for the system. She was an executive committee member of the California Association of Postsecondary Education and Disability (CAPED) and a member of the national Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). She was the principle grant writer and a founding board member of the San Diego Community Service Center for the Disabled, now renamed as Access to Independence. She was chosen as a delegate to the White House Conference on the Handicapped and a participant in the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.

From 2000 to 2004, she was the disability expert in the Office of Diversity and Equity at SDSU, investigating discrimination complaints and formulating disability policy at the university. Bacon retired from SDSU in the fall of 2004, but her time and expertise were already in demand from numerous community organizations and government entities. She worked tirelessly, in various capacities, both before and after retirement with SANDAG, CALTRANS, the San Diego City Council, City of San Diego Disability Services Program, San Diego County Supervisors' offices, the San Diego Disability Action Coalition, What's Next?, a mentoring program for high school students and young adults with disabilities, and many other organizations.

At her retirement celebration in November 2004, members of the disabled community spoke to Bacon's unwavering commitment to the rights of individuals with disabilities, both at the university and in the community.

Bacon's efforts to remove barriers, both physical and attitudinal, for persons with disabilities have brought lasting results. The SDSU campus and the larger San Diego community are more accessible, thanks to her personal efforts and her ability to mobilize and motivate others.

Pre-deceased by her parents, Alfons and Dorothy Bacon, she is survived by her twin sister Ellen Guthrie, brother Chuck Bacon, sister Nancy Rothel, brother Frank Bacon, brother Jim Chandler, niece Laura Wiley and a multitude of close friends and colleagues in San Diego and nationwide who will all miss her wisdom, positive spirit, dedication, friendship and love.

Plans for a celebration of Bacon's life in late March or early April are pending and will be announced in SDSUniverse and on the Student Disability Services Web site.