Chris Rosa, 45, is university director for student affairs at the City University of New York (CUNY). Rosa earned a doctorate in sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center; his dissertation is called "Disability Rites: The Construction of Disability Culture." Each year since 1997, Rosa has authored chapters advising students with disabilities on how to choose colleges, graduate and professional schools in a published series for the Kaplan Interactive Division of Simon & Schuster.

Rosa, who lives in Flushing, N.Y., graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Queens College with a double major in sociology and philosophy. His activities include coaching basketball for the Catholic Youth Organization and teaching at City University.

Rosa served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Employee Disability Concerns of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. As a member of the New York State Independent Living Council, Rosa is involved in making policies ensuring that state agencies providing services to consumers with disabilities do so in ways that empower these individuals and foster their independence.

A member of the national task force steering committee, Rosa was profiled on the 1993 national broadcast of the MDA Telethon. He was named an MDA national vice president in 1994 and elected to MDA's Board of Directors in 1997. Rosa was the recipient of MDA's 1997 National Personal Achievement Award.

Rosa has Becker muscular dystrophy, a slowly progressing neuromuscular disease. His condition was diagnosed when he was 9; his brother, Gian, a 38-year-old higher education professional, also has Becker muscular dystrophy.