Among his most significant contributions to Hofstra was the campaign to make Hofstra one of the first private campuses in the United States with complete structural accessibility to the physically disabled. Dr. Yuker played a major role in the initiative to make Hofstra's campus facilities 100% "barrier-free" to students and faculty with disabilities.
In the early 1960's the University began ambitious efforts to build ramps, elevators, accessible parking and modified restrooms and water fountains. The Program for the Higher Education of the Disabled (PHED) was formally organized in 1963, and by 1981 Hofstra was the first private university in the country to have complete program accessibility to people with disabilities.
