Faces of Michigan

Gary L. Talbot: Alumnus Perseveres to Lead and Serve

The story of Gary Talbot—the 2008 recipient of the James T. Neubacher Award, conferred by the U-M Council for Disability Concerns—is one that could only happen in America. He dropped out of high school before graduating and became a gifted auto mechanic working for Honda for several years. After being in an accident, Gary became a wheelchair user. He established an auto repair shop in Ann Arbor, which was the first time that he felt the sting of discrimination so common to people with physical restrictions.

Gary returned to his studies at Washtenaw Community College with a plan to transfer to the University of Michigan. He had to begin at WCC’s lowest academic level, but still gained admissions to the U-M College of Engineering to study Mechanical Engineering in only two years. After completing his Bachelor in Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1994, Gary went to work at General Motors in Willow Run, working on transmissions, which soon led to his leadership of GM Mobility Engineering, where a main concern was transportation for those in wheelchairs. After GM, Gary was employed by the Disney Corporation, where he worked on access to all rides in Disney facilities worldwide. At this time, he was named to the U.S. Access Board by President George W. Bush. Gary was then recruited to the Boston (MBTA) Transportation System to help achieve MBTA’s goal of providing a disability accessible transportation model for other large cities to follow.

Gary Talbot has devoted his career to making certain that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as non-handicapped people. This effort has improved the lives of countless people.

Reprinted with permission from the Council for Disability Concerns and the James T. Neubacher Award. Credit for the above information goes to Professor Bruce Karnopp, Arthur Thurnau Professor of Engineering.