This post was authored by Leilani Maiden, Unearthing Towson’s History Project student researcher, Summer 2024.

Dan Keplinger has a plethora of accomplishments and notable experiences under his belt. He is the subject of the Oscar winning documentary, King Gimp, has had his artwork displayed across the country in prestigious galleries, is a successful motivational speaker, has been the star of Superbowl advertisements, and is a disability rights advocate. A fact that may be lesser known to the public is that he also happens to be a Towson University alumni. He first began his journey as a student at Towson in 1993, which resulted in two bachelor’s degrees (one in mass communications and the other in art) and culminated with an M.F.A in Art and Design in 2007. Even after graduating, he has maintained a presence within the TU community for years. Most recently he displayed his work in collaboration with TU in 2020 entitled: Public/Private Conversations. His long relationship with the university has given him a unique perspective, and an appreciation in how TU has changed over the years.

The Unearthing Towson’s History Project recently took the time to speak with Dan this summer. In this oral history, Dan speaks on how his identity as a first-generation college student with a disability, in part, shaped his experience at TU. This experience had positive and negative sides- both of which are pertinent to hear. For example, one faculty member urged him to completely give up on art due to his disability (which he spoke on in a 1994 Towerlight article). Conversely, faculty member Stuart Stein worked to understand and guide Dan on his path as an artist, so much so that Dan refers to Stuart as his “artist father.” Dan and Stuart spoke in detail of their relationship in a 2000 edition of the Towson magazine.  While vastly different, both experiences lit a fire under Dan to succeed at TU and prove that he was a visionary with a story to tell through his art.

In this interview Dan recounts some of his many unique experiences as they pertain to TU: from sharing drinks in TU’s printshop, to receiving a bond as a reward for being the Office for Students with Disabilities Employee of the Year, and to using that bond to take a TU student on a month-long speaking tour across Europe following the release of King Gimp. While Dan speaks highly of his experiences at TU, he also notes that it wasn’t always that way. Dan speaks about how he felt that he wasn’t fully recognized for his talent as an artist and for his contributions to TU until after the release of King Gimp. He feels TU made up for that in spades when he came back for his second bachelor’s degree and his master’s, but it is unfortunate that that recognition wasn’t given initially, especially considering Dan’s large presence on campus even prior to the release of King Gimp. We also asked Dan if at the time he felt students with disabilities were included in talks pertaining to equity and inclusion on campus. He responded, “not really,” and that “people always acted like we had to be thankful for what we had.” Thus, it calls for the importance of making sure that the value students with disabilities bring to our university and their contributions are highlighted and that they are a larger part of the talks pertaining to equity and inclusion on campus. Dan noted that “everyone has something to contribute,” and that all it takes it just making sure that everyone is provided with equal access to the same opportunities.