There continue to be curriculum, access, and technological barriers for persons with physical disabilities pursuing degree programs in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (SMET). Students with physical disabilities are not generally encouraged to participate in these fields, sometimes simply because they have never been exposed to the potential opportunities in SMET by their school teachers or counselors. This lack of participation by students with disabilities is engendered further by meager access to instructional materials in appropriate forms, to media, to educational technology, and to laboratories. The paucity of role models and mentors in these areas, as well as the uninformed attitudes and lack of training of pre-college teachers, counselors, and higher education faculty have also had a significant impact on the small number of persons with physical disabilities entering and remaining in SMET careers.

The low numbers of students with disabilities who currently enter SMET programs and the lack of experience of long-term college faculty with having students with disabilities in class, suggest that these students are not getting the message that they are welcome and valued in SMET programs. This project intends to change that message.

It is the goal of this three-year project to promote opportunities for SMET middle school, high school, and university students with physical disabilities to achieve a high level of success, both academically and professionally, through the removal of architectural, technological, and societal barriers that presently exist. We wish to create a model program that targets students in Arizona who are physically disabled in order to increase the proportion following SMET curricula. This project has the following objectives.

• To increase the proportion of the middle school students with physical disabilities throughout Arizona who will pursue SMET subjects for college preparation when they become high school students. As of December 1996, there were about 650 middle school students with physical disabilities in the state of Arizona.
• To increase the proportion of the high school students with physical disabilities who will pursue SMET subjects when they become college students. As of December 1996, there were about 1,000 high school students with physical disabilities in the state of Arizona. Currently, only about 70 of the over 1,000 college students with physical disabilities at The University of Arizona (UA) are pursuing SMET degree programs.
• To increase the proportion of the college undergraduate students with physical disabilities who will pursue SMET subjects when they become graduate students. Currently, only 14 of the 86 graduate students with physical disabilities at UA are pursuing SMET graduate degree programs.
• To establish a mentoring and role model system between SMET middle and high school students, college students, and SMET professionals in industry and in education, all with physical disabilities.
• To educate school teachers, counselors, and college faculty—particularly international faculty and teaching assistants—peers, co-workers, and parents, resulting in the elimination of stereotyping and the encouragement of self-esteem among students with disabilities.
• To assess existing SMET laboratories at UA with a view to transforming them into "barrier free" environments allowing full access to all equipment contained therein.

We are aware of the work of William McCarthy at New Mexico State University; Kenneth Barner and Richard Foulds at the University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware; Mark Strauss at the University of Illinois; and Sheryl Burgstahler of the DO-IT project at the University of Washington. Some of our ideas are rooted in their more successful components, but are designed to meet the needs of our large campus based on the assessment of students, faculty, and area service providers.

In Year 1 of our project, the goal is to pilot different methods that "level the field" for students at all stages—from middle school through graduate school—who are physically disabled. After Year 1, the Principal Investigators (PIs), the Advisory Committee, and a trained evaluator, will assess the project’s components via pre and post instruments and debriefings, determine what hindrances were encountered, and propose improvements for Years 2 and 3.

Our approach consists of eight interrelated components, which we describe in turn. Within each component we discuss participant recruitment and selection, together with our evaluation and assessment plans, as appropriate. Time lines are on pages * and *, where both the horizontal and vertical integration of these eight components can be seen.

1. Middle/High School Student Outreach This component is designed to increase the interest in SMET fields by middle and high school students with disabilities. It is accomplished through mentoring by current UA SMET students with disabilities and faculty, who travel to schools throughout the state meeting with students. Contacts will be maintained via the internet, creating a state-wide peer network.

Specifically, a team from UA will visit approximately four schools each semester, initially targeting the Tucson area which has over 50,000 middle/high school students in 10 school districts. These initial schools will be identified as schools that serve the largest population of students with physical disabilities. An example of such a school is Catalina High in the Tucson Unified School District—the largest school district in Tucson. It has extensive facilities, programs, and support services for students who are disabled. The size of the team sent to each school will depend on the size of the expected audience, but will consist of from one to three UA students who are disabled and the same number of SMET faculty. Participating faculty will have previously attended a workshop specifically designed for them (the Faculty Development Workshops).

Each visit will include an overview of SMET disciplines by the faculty, while the UA students’ role will be to share their own experiences in these areas. The UA students will show how students who are disabled can overcome their disabilities by performing experiments normally thought unachievable, e.g. a visually impaired student using a graphical interface to interpret a graph, or a mobility impaired student using a computer simulation of dropping a ball from a platform to understand the effect of gravity. The middle/high school students will then participate in similar hands-on tasks, e.g. measuring a voltage with a voltmeter; mixing chemicals; conducting a pendulum experiment; measuring distance with an ultrasonic gauge. The UA students will also explain the mentoring program, and students will be encouraged to join the program. Mentor/mentee information will be exchanged.

The UA students will have previously attended the UA Peer Mentor program described under Mentoring Undergraduates. Every effort will be made to keep the mentor/mentee relationship as informal as possible. Informality breeds trust, and trust is important in breaking down a common wall built by students with disabilities—resistance to anyone telling them how to solve a problem they deny having. A mentor who is a friend and a member of the "club" is more likely to be effective. Mentees are encouraged to contact their mentors whenever they want. Mentors will contact their mentees monthly, if not weekly, during a semester.

At the end of the session questionnaires will be distributed and completed concerning the effectiveness of the presentations. Students with physical disabilities attending middle schools will be advised of the Summer Institutes and encouraged to apply. Application forms will be available, so these visits will also serve as a recruitment tool for the Summer Institutes.

The faculty will be recruited during the meetings that will be scheduled with each department as part of the Faculty Development Workshops. This will inform the faculty of our project, and allow us to identify key personnel for recruitment.

In Years 2 and 3 these workshops will be expanded to include the rest of the State. Then a state-wide peer network will be created by encouraging state and national internet servers to provide links, at minimal costs, for future contacts with schools.

The Project Manager will keep track of the UA faculty and students who visit the schools, the students they are linked with, and will ensure that the mentor contacts the mentee monthly, if not weekly, during a semester.

For assessment purposes, letters of continued interest will be sent out as evidence of the project.

2. Middle/High School Counselor/Teacher Training Workshops We will host workshops for school counselors and teachers focusing on strategies to encourage students with disabilities to pursue a career in a SMET field. Teachers attending the workshops will receive continuing education units. The two-hour workshops conducted by UA SMET faculty and UA students who are physically disabled will include follow-up opportunities for continued discussion and problem solving with program mentors and advisors. These workshops will also form part of the Faculty Development Workshops.

This component of the project will design, develop, and implement disability awareness workshops for Middle and High School Counselors and Teachers. The workshops are intended to encourage these counselors and teachers to recognize a student’s interest in SMET and to assist students with disabilities who have the potential of seeking entry to university level SMET programs.

The workshops will consist of several modules that include a literature review, lectures, discussions, and sensitivity training. The literature will describe the types of disabilities while the lectures and discussions will center on the impact of disabilities as well as the psychosocial aspects of those disabilities. The sensitivity training module includes role playing and simulation to explore the interaction of a student with a disability and his/her environment. The workshop will also focus on the barriers to learning that are often apparent yet frequently overlooked within the classroom, laboratories, campus, and community.

School teachers are continually challenged with their task to teach 30 or more students, four or more times a day. If we add to that task the need to accommodate a student with a disability, then the challenge may become overwhelming and cause the teacher to be less effective. The goal of the workshops is to provide these teachers with a working knowledge of accommodations and accessibility information that will readily assist them in making the teaching of science and math courses a pleasant experience for themselves and their students. An initial workshop will be presented at the UA near the beginning of the project. Teachers will explore accommodation and accessibility issues, learn some tips for teachers and students regarding accommodation and access, and understand the implications of the Individualized Education Plan for Students with disabilities, together with other ideas that make science and math courses more accessible to students with disabilities. The workshop will be open to all teachers in Tucson and Southern Arizona.

In addition to this workshop, we will give ten off-campus workshops in Year 1 of the project. (In Years 2 and 3 this number will increase to meet the needs of the community, and these workshops will be expanded to include the rest of the State.) Invitations will be extended to Tucson area middle and high schools. The number of attendees are projected to be 15 to 20 for each of these off-campus workshops reaching a total of 150 to 200 teachers and counselors per year. We will also offer these workshops to school districts to be scheduled during their yearly in-service days. We will also offer similar workshops to advocacy and parent organizations that have special interest in students with disabilities.

Participants at these workshops will be advised of the Encouragement Grants and the Summer Institutes available to them and their students. Application forms will be available, so these workshops will serve as recruitment tools for the Encouragement Grants and the Summer Institutes.

The modules developed for these workshops will be expanded and fully integrated to meet the requirements for Faculty Development Workshops. These modules can be expanded to meet unique needs of faculty members, departments, and colleges. One of the outcomes of these workshops will be the development of a general disability related course (called "Disability and Society") at the freshman level and offered for credit to students at the UA.

This component of the project will be assessed through pre and post surveys of the teachers, counselors, and parents.

Jim Boyless, one of our PIs, has extensive experience in this area and will present and run these workshops.

3. Encouragement Grants Each year of the project we will award 15 grants of $1,500 each, through a competitive process, to science/math teachers who attended the workshops for middle/high school teachers and counselors. These grants will encourage the recipients to design projects that promote continued study in SMET among students with physical disabilities.

Information on these Encouragement Grants will be distributed during the Middle/High School Counselor/Teacher Training Workshops. The Project Manager will contact science/math teachers who attended these workshops inviting them to apply for an Encouragement Grant. The teacher will submit a one page proposal—an essay—describing how he/she will use the grant, emphasizing the impact on students with disabilities in the classroom. These essays will be judged by the PIs and the Advisory Committee, with awards being based both on the impact of the project and on the involvement of students with disabilities. The successful teachers will be notified allowing them to start their projects in the Spring semester.

At the end of the school year each grantee will write a report, describing what they did and the effectiveness of their project. The report will also contain direct feedback from the students with disabilities. These reports will be compiled, edited, and published as historical documents and disseminated as widely as possible, which will include uploading them to our website. A meeting will be held for the successful teachers to share their results. The Project Manager will send letters of commendation suitable for inclusion in the teacher’s personnel file. Successful teachers may apply for awards in future years.

4. Summer Institute This is a five-week long summer institute for 15 middle school students with physical disabilities held at UA. The institute is a nonresidential six hour per day experience introducing middle school students to exciting areas in SMET. Topics will be drawn from Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics, and will be conducted by faculty from the College of Science and College of Engineering who will have previously attended a Faculty Development Workshop. The students will each receive a stipend and a book allowance. We will supply lunch and transportation between UA and the student’s home, if needed. Participants will be selected by the PIs and the Advisory Committee.

The Summer Institute will include:

(a) Academic and Research Experiences. Active, hands-on learning opportunities will be available for about six hours per day (including one hour for lunch). Typical topics of study would include basic math skills in a computer context, the cooking of hot-dogs using parabolic reflectors and solar ovens constructed by the students, the use of technology to improve understanding of science and math, the use of the internet to collect references in conjunction with experiments, the analysis of experimental data, and the building of a concrete canoe. The Institute would also use locally developed materials. The Southwest Regional Institute in the Mathematical Sciences (SWRIMS), an NSF funded project based in the UA Mathematics Department, has produced exciting material on population biology and cryptography ideally suited for our Summer Institute. One of SWRIMS’ goals is to encourage the collaboration of secondary and middle school mathematics and science teachers and university faculty.

(b) Professional Development and Skill Building. This will include a session three times a week familiarizing the student with UA research resources, such as the use of the library, computer facilities, e-mail, and the internet. Guest lectures from role models (faculty, professionals, students) on research issues, ethics, diversity in the research community, information on SMET careers, and strategies for negotiating university life are potential topics. Presenters will emphasize the advantages and opportunities of SMET study. Other topics could include selecting a university and discussing the admittance process from the point of view of a person with disabilities, sources of funding for persons with disabilities, and application essays. Study skills workshops, offered by the UA University Learning Center, will also be available, on topics such as preparing for examinations, note-taking, time, and stress management—from the perspective of students with disabilities

(c) Mentoring and Networking. Summer institute participants will have opportunities to network within the academic, student, and professional community in which they are interested. Lectures, informal events, and job shadowing will occur. Key people at UA, such as the Mars Rover team, will also be introduced to the group. An opening orientation event, a mid-point social gathering, and a final event, will take place. Each participant will be assigned a mentor—a UA student with a physical disability from a discipline that interests the student. This mentoring will continue through the following year when the participant returns to school, following the mentoring outline described under Middle/High School Student Outreach.

(d) Presentation and Sharing of Work. A sense of accomplishment and closure often occurs with the completion and presentation of the summer's work. A closing event will be held, at which each student will present the results of a research experience to families, participating faculty and professionals, mentors, project personnel, and invited guests. Each student will be recognized for his/her achievements. A synopsis of final projects will be printed for distribution and placed on our website.

(e) Opportunities in the Wider Community. Because only a small number of students will participate in this Summer Institute relative to the number of students in the state with disabilities, participants will be encouraged to take a leadership role, sharing their experiences and work with other students and teachers in their home school and another school. Ideally their work will find an opportunity for continued development at home and school with teachers who have participated in workshops. Mentor interaction will continue, including encouragement to apply for university admission.

Professor Stephen Hawking, F.R.S., of the University of Cambridge, UK, has confirmed, by email, that he will send an individualized congratulatory message to each of the participants. Hawking as a role model cannot be overemphasized. It was the sight of Hawking on television that made one of our PIs—while a middle school student—decide to pursue a degree program in SMET. That video will be shown during the Summer Institute.

Recruitment for the Summer Institute will make full use of existing UA programs, the Middle/High School Student Outreach program, the Middle/High School Counselor/Teacher Training Workshops, flyers, UA outreach materials, APEX on-site coordinators, Faculty Development Workshops, internet advertising on our website, and mailings to advocacy and parent organizations at Tucson area middle schools.

The application form will allow the student (a) to describe reasons for wishing to participate in the Summer Institute including the student’s career goals, (b) to identify areas of interest by giving a brief statement about a SMET project or topic that has interested the student, and (c) to supply information on potential accommodations and/or support that will be required to meet the student's needs. The student’s transcript, two letters of recommendation, (one from an academic person familiar with the student), and a documented physical disability, will also be required. These materials will be the criteria used by the PIs and Advisory Committee for selecting the participants. Middle school students with a physical disability will be considered without regard to sex, race, religion, national origin, age, or handicapping conditions. The Project Manager will notify those who are accepted and those who should be invited to reapply the following year, and will also keep an alternate list, in case of last minute withdrawals. Because the accepted students will receive a stipend and book allowance, the they will sign brief contracts outlining their responsibilities.

Evaluation will include both formal and informal measures and will yield qualitative and quantitative information. At the onset of the program, students will be asked to complete a one page questionnaire that will ask about plans for continued SMET study, university objectives, and expectations for participation in the program. These will be considered in designing each students' program. At the end of the five week program, students will be surveyed again to determine if their plans for academic study have changed. They will be asked to evaluate each component of the program (research/academic, workshops, social activities, mentoring experience, final presentation, response to challenge for wider opportunities). Students will also be given the opportunity to evaluate course effectiveness, faculty, and ease of participation. Exit interviews with open-ended questions will also take place with the mentors. Faculty, the Project Manager, and mentors will also be asked to complete a questionnaire evaluating their experiences and asking for suggestions to improve future programs. During the course of the program, participating faculty and mentors will be contacted by the Project Manager weekly to discuss and address issues and concerns that arise.

A long-range evaluation will be performed. Students will be mailed a follow-up questionnaire every other year for 10 years (5 surveys) to track continued participation in SMET, school, and career choices. This will also allow us to recruit additional mentors and future career professionals in SMET.

After the Summer Institute we will maintain contact with the participants by having them attend two half day events a year, on a Saturday near the end of each semester. This will allow the participants to detail personal experiences and learn from each other, and allow us to give positive reinforcement. Reinforcement activities will include learning/study skills workshops and course advising. This activity will have transportation and lunch provided, will be organized by the Project Manager, and will be led by faculty and mentors from the Summer Institute. In Years 2 and 3, previous years’ participants will also be invited, thereby forming a community of SMET scholars.

5. Mentoring Undergraduates At UA, SMET graduate students with physical disabilities will mentor SMET undergraduates with physical disabilities.

In the same way that the middle and high school students with physical disabilities can benefit from a mentoring program, so too can undergraduates. For reasons similar to those described in Middle/High School Student Outreach, this mentoring program should be viewed as students helping other students. This attitude makes the whole relationship between mentor and mentee more casual and productive.

Mentors will be trained under the existing campus-wide UA Peer Mentor program—run by the Student Encouragement Program—which was started by the UA Center for Disability Related Resources (CeDRR, w3.arizona.edu/~cedrr/homepage.html). One of our PIs, John Olson, has been through this program, and is currently a Peer Mentor. The training programs developed for students, staff, and faculty, include modules pertinent to students with disabilities which can be used for this program.

Mentors and mentees will be matched based on the following characteristics: (a) the same major field of study, (b) the same department or college, and (c) similarities in disabilities (e.g. matching mobility impaired to mobility impaired). We also realize that the small pool of mentors available limits the degrees of freedom here; the main point is to match persons that have enough in common that empathy is possible. The overriding principle is "Keep it loose, but make it work." We anticipate that a typical mentor-mentee pairing will exist for a year, with the mentor spending about three hours per week working as a mentor. Mentoring duties will include: (a) acting as a sounding board, friend, advisor, example, role model, or buddy, (b) acting as an advisor in "dealing" with a disability in the University environment, and (c) giving advice and assistance in "how to succeed at the University", (e.g. how to study, time management, stress reduction, priorities). Active tutoring in college subjects is specifically omitted from the mentor’s duties. This area is generally well-covered by UA academic units.

The mentees will be recruited through the UA Center for Disability Related Resources (CeDRR) by the disability counselors, and through the various student disability organizations on campus—the Association of Students with Disabilities, the Organization of Students with Disabilities, and the Cerulean Council. Mentees will eventually be invited to become mentors.

6. Industry Outreach SMET professionals in industry and education will mentor middle and high school, undergraduate and graduate students, all with disabilities with the intent of changing industry climate and expanding career options. Mentors provide evidence that a SMET career is an attainable goal. We will identify and draw SMET professionals willing to share their individual formulas for success in industry and education with students. What better teacher than one who overcame obstacles the student has yet to face.

Principals of local companies in SMET fields, especially electronics, optics, aeronautics, biomedical engineering, defense, and the computer industry, will be contacted in person and by phone by Advisory Committee members to solicit support in identifying possible mentors. A mentors training will be held at each interested firm. Approximately 3 to 5 students will be assigned a mentor. Mentors and mentees will complete an information profile, and suggestions will be provided for interaction—personally, through phone, and the internet. Visits to firms will be encouraged.

The outreach team, led by Eric Olson, who has 27 years of industry experience, will work closely with the UA Department of Career Services (w3.arizona.edu/~career/frame.htm), through Noël White. Both Olson and White are members of our Advisory Committee. Current relations with area industries, such as Andersen Consulting, Phoenix, which agreed to assist in finding mentors; the Industrial Advisory Board; and the Greater Tucson Economic Council, a group in the Optical and Aerospace area will benefit this component. Mentors and mentees will be surveyed by a mail-in questionnaire regarding their contact with the mentees each year. A list-serv of mentors will also be established to transmit information and discuss issues.

7. Lab Facilities Survey We will perform assessments of existing UA freshman laboratory facilities (biology, chemistry, physics), and specify what changes need to be made for each laboratory surveyed to be transformed into a "barrier free" environment. This survey forms the basis of the request to CeDRR to modify these laboratory facilities. The goal of this component is to speed up the existing process currently used by the UA and to ensure that SMET labs requiring modification are given the highest priority.

UA has an historical and continuing commitment to ensure accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities throughout all of its physical facilities. The campus has a high level of accessibility to facilities compared to other institutions. Each year additional funding is set aside for identification of new projects for modification and/or the upgrading of existing facilities. For FY 1997/98, the University has made $240,000 available to CeDRR for facility-barrier removal. Of this, $140,000 is for designated projects, and $100,000 is available in a pool to be expended on projects of "highest priority".

The responsibility for the allocation of this $100,000 falls on the UA Facility Review Group, which consists of individuals representing CeDRR, the 504/ADA Compliance Office, the University Facility Management Division, the faculty, UA staff, and the Association of Students with Disabilities. This 11 member committee is highly experienced with expertise in such areas as the statutory requirements of the ADA and 504, knowledge of design standards, (the ADAAG and others), user needs from a disability perspective, alternative solutions for program access, and other relevant experience. This Facilities Review Group has been a highly effective mechanism in the identification, assessment, and removal of facility barriers to program participation ensuring programmatic access across UA.

We conducted a sample survey of all UA Chemistry laboratories used by freshmen. The survey included a physical examination of these facilities by students in wheelchairs, faculty, and others from the planning group. Of the 20 freshmen labs in the building, completed in 1992, ten are unusable by students with disabilities due to: (a) immovable furniture, (b) height of desks, (c) maneuvering room, and (d) unusable handles. The modular design of the labs will enable relatively inexpensive retrofitting, although much more expensive had it been designed correctly initially. We selected these laboratories to sample because three students with physical disabilities registered in the same unusable laboratory at the same time this semester.

As a commitment to providing increased programmatic access to SMET participants and curriculums, in Year 1 this project will undertake a physical assessment of all UA SMET freshman laboratory facilities (biology, chemistry, physics) to ensure usability of these facilities by students with physical disabilities. (Engineering labs are utilized beginning in the sophomore year, and the initial priority of this component is to address freshman accessibility issues.) This assessment of facilities will be performed during the initial six months of the project.

For the purpose of this project, the following steps will be taken to ensure maximum availability of laboratory facilities for individuals with disabilities. A Laboratory Assessment Task Force will be formed, consisting of the ADA Facilities Coordinator, three students with disabilities, a faculty member representing the laboratory to be evaluated, a representative of the CeDRR office, and a local high school teacher representing a SMET area. This task force will: (a) Identify key undergraduate laboratories that are either not accessible to, or not totally useable by, students with disabilities. (b) Select a number of these laboratories to be evaluated for needed modifications. (c) Utilize existing accessibility and design criteria to develop a specific set of standards for assessment of laboratories. There is no single specific universal design standard available for modification of laboratory facilities. Thus, development of a manual for utilization of specific design criteria will also be a valuable tool for the institution. (d) Develop cost estimates and timelines needed to complete the proposed modifications. (e) Submit these projects to the UA Facilities Review Group for review, prioritization, and potential funding. Availability of funding for these requests will be from the "unrestricted" pool of dollars ($100,000 for FY 1997/98). The proactive nature of our project will speed up the existing process by identifying SMET laboratories that require modifications and elevating them to the highest priority for funding by the UA Facilities Review Group.

Based on the overall design and objectives of this project, modifications will be completed in laboratory facilities to ensure full usability for individuals with physical disabilities. Members of the Laboratory Assessment Task Force will confirm that the facility is fully usable.

The UA and Tucson are highly regarded for their physical accessibility, yet we have found the implementation of ADA standards are not always sufficient for comfortable use. It is our belief that advance consideration based on feedback from actual users could considerably enhance the standards of design used on the UA campus and in other research campuses and settings. The results of the survey will be made available through the project's web site, and will also be forwarded to the ADA designers and the appropriate association of campus planners. As the UA commences the design of a new freshman facility and other buildings, the results of these surveys should be incorporated.

Each year of the project the UA College of Architecture will present a Design Charette regarding the standards, assessments, funding and recommendations of the project Facility Review Process for the University community. As part of the survey effort, an architectural design studio focusing on issues of universal design, taught by Dr. Susan Moody, Acting Associate Dean of the College of Architecture, will be invited to participate in the survey and to work with students and faculty with disabilities who are actual and potential users of the laboratories and facilities. The results of the survey and a studio design charette will be presented in a public, community setting involving campus facility planners, department heads, participants in the survey, local designers specializing in universal design, and science and engineering teachers from area middle and high schools.

In Years 2 and 3, the laboratory facilities survey will be expanded to include all UA SMET laboratory facilities. The Laboratory Assessment Task Force, established in Year 1, will be expanded to include first year disabled project participants and a high school student with a physical disability. Expanding the group will not only broaden the scope of ownership in the project but also continue the process of developing experienced and knowledgeable individuals with physical disabilities in the community. When the campus-wide survey of laboratory facilities is completed, the information will be formulated in a Construction Decision Package (CDP) to be submitted to the University Space Committee requesting funding to complete all of the required modifications. The CDP is the mechanism for identifying and requesting support for major capital projects for UA facilities. An estimate for these anticipated projects is in excess of $3,000,000.

This component of the project will be assessed by the number of UA SMET lab facilities retrofitted over a five year period as a result of our recommendations.

8. Faculty Development Workshops We will hold workshops for UA faculty and Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) on disability awareness and alternative teaching methods. These workshops are designed to remove barriers for students with disabilities through faculty and GTA development.

The Faculty Development Workshops will target two different groups—the faculty who teach in the Summer Institutes and who take part in the Middle/High School Student Outreach, and all other faculty and GTAs at UA. The workshops for the former will include the following: (a) activities to increase awareness of the impacts of physical disabilities, (b) activities to diminish behaviors that are based on stereotypes, (c) increased awareness of environmental and pedagogical barriers that impede learning for students with physical disabilities, (d) introduction of instructional strategies that decrease learning barriers, and (e) a comprehensive understanding of needed accommodations. The content for the faculty/GTAs at large will center on greater awareness of students with physical disabilities and information regarding resources to contact for assistance in enhancing the learning of students with disabilities.

The workshop for the Summer Institute and Middle/High School Student Outreach faculty will engage them in a review of their beliefs about students with disabilities and will involve experiential activities that provide an opportunity to develop greater empathy for these students, and expanded understanding of the challenges that the students face in trying to fully participate in an environment that is not designed with their needs in mind. These faculty will "shadow" a student with a disability and/or have the opportunity to experience being in a wheelchair while completing the typical daily activities of a student on campus. The faculty who will teach in the Summer Institute and the Middle/High School Student Outreach will be carefully screened to assure the success of the program. The attitudes and behaviors of these faculty should clearly demonstrate a belief in the potential of students with disabilities and should promote the participation of the students in SMET programs. The recruitment effort will center on topnotch faculty who are committed to assisting their departments in developing greater understanding and appreciation of students with disabilities and who have the desire and ability to inspire these students to pursue careers in SMET. The Summer Institute/ Middle/High School Student Outreach faculty workshop will be offered in the early fall and late spring and will encompass 6-8 hours of content and activities.

The efforts and workshops designed to increase the awareness of the faculty and GTAs at large will assume a variety of formats, from short informational sessions with department heads to presentations at departmental meetings in which faculty are present. A workshop to increase awareness and to clarify the role of "agent of the university" will be required of all international teaching assistants at the Graduate Assistants in Teaching orientations that are held in August and January each year by the University Teaching Center (UTC, www.utc.arizona.edu). An awareness session will also be added to the annual Instructional Resources for New Faculty orientation that is held each August.

An instructional video containing awareness-producing information and effective practices in maximizing the success of students with disabilities in SMET will be developed out of the Middle/High School Student Outreach, the Middle/High School Counselor/Teacher Training Workshops, the Summer Institutes, and the Faculty Development Workshops. This tool will then be available for use in a variety of venues in which the intent is to continue to develop greater awareness of the talents, capabilities, and needs of students with physical disabilities. The video could serve as an educational and recruiting tool.

These training workshops and videos will be developed in cooperation with the UTC and the Faculty Development Partnership led by Terri Riffe, a member of our Advisory Committee, at no cost to the grant.

In addition to the methods described for participant recruitment and participation under the individual components, the UA has in place an organization—the Science and Mathematics Education Center (SAMEC, www.lpl.arizona.edu/samec)—which will play a large role in the publicity and promotion of this project. SAMEC was formed by the Arizona State Board of Regents to serve as the coordinating body for the UA’s campus-wide initiative in support of pre-college science and mathematics education, including programs involving school teachers and their students. It has many links to the teaching community (the Accent on Math, Engineering, and Science (AMES) Newsletter which is mailed to most science and math teachers throughout the state, an annual Math and Science Teachers' Conference, and the Science Teachers' Colloquium Series). The director of SAMEC, Richard Greenberg, is a member of our Advisory Committee.

Flyers, UA outreach materials, APEX on-site coordinators, the Faculty Development Workshops, internet advertising on our website, and mailings to advocacy and parent organizations at Tucson area middle schools are other ways we will recruit participants.

The UA Math Department (www.math.arizona.edu) has built excellent relations with middle and high school math teachers throughout the state. The NSF funded summer workshops given over the past ten years (Making Everybody Count, Making Math Count, PRIME, PRISM) and the Co-Op Program, where math high school teachers spend a year at the UA, give us natural access to about 400 math school teachers statewide.

The overriding objective of the program is to change the culture which inhibits an early interest in SMET and to increase the participation in SMET fields of study by persons with disabilities. We are interested in ascertaining which programs are most effective in bringing about educational and industrial climate change, in creating the most significant responses in faculty, teaching assistants, and teachers, and in establishing the expectations that students can and will take the steps necessary to pursue SMET educational and career goals. With appropriate evaluation, the expectations and changes in program participants can be better understood in a way that impacts the implementation and modification to programs. The assessment design must determine the impact of the eight pilot programs on the involved stakeholders—students, teachers, faculty, parents, and industry within educational and professional settings. Assessment questions and approaches for each are described on the chart shown later.

Using national standards for utility, propriety, feasibility, and accuracy, the assessment plan uses a combination of formative, summative, and ex-post facto follow-up methods depending on the nature of each component. Both quantitative and qualitative information will be analyzed (a) to determine the effectiveness of pilot programs, (b) to revise programs as needed to increase success, and (c) to ensure accountability of program participants. Assessment of the overall program design and the products disseminated will also occur. Methods of data collection include pre- and post-event questionnaires, observation, review of records, data and financial information, and open ended interviews.

Continuous evaluation is preferred as a means of achieving maximum success over a three-year period, and will be incorporated as practical through pre- and post-planning meetings around workshops and events, informal monthly discussions by project leaders, the Program Manager and the PIs, and formal bi-annual reviews of the entire operation with the Program Manager, the PIs, and the Advisory Committee. The emphasis of the process related evaluations is on continuous improvement to achieve the goals of the program, to solidify working relationships among diverse organizations and units, and to maintain a high level of participation by mentors and mentees. Use of products (web site, training modules, videos), expansion of programs (in multiple school districts), and increased program participation (industry mentors) provide other static measures of utility. Summative evaluations at the end of each fiscal year, with the previous year's experience, and in relation to other similar national programs (at New Mexico, Washington, et aliter) will provide additional insights in evaluating first year programs.

Evaluation instruments will be designed by program personnel expert in methods of evaluation, primarily Jennifer Croissant and Jim Boyless, with assistance for faculty training workshops from the University Teaching Center (Terri Riffe and Jennifer Franklin, who manages faculty and GTA evaluation at the UA).

The PIs and members of the Advisory Committee will make decisions and recommendations jointly. This will include reviewing evaluations, assisting with the various components of the project, and monitoring the progress of the program as a whole.

The Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day running of the project. The Project Manager makes sure that the ideas of the PIs and the Advisory Committee are implemented and that the Summer Institutes are advertised and run. We are very fortunate to have someone of Jim Boyless’ stature and knowledge as our Project Manager.

The Graduate Student Coordinator (GSC) acts as an assistant to the Project Manager. The duties of the GSC include supporting the activities of the Project Manager through coordinating assigned tasks, along with aiding in other activities associated with the project. Two PIs, Ali Mehrabian and John Olson, will share this responsibility.

The Industry Contact reports to the PIs and the Advisory Committee, and is responsible for establishing industry contacts and matching professionals who are disabled with school and college students who are disabled. Eric Olson, with years of experience in industry, is our Industry Contact.

David Lovelock, Professor of Mathematics (Ph.D. 1962, joined UA 1974). Recipient of UA Provost's Teaching Award, and the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award for Outstanding Teaching and High Scholarly Standards. Recipient of the MAA Regional Award for Distinguished University Teaching of Mathematics. Co-authored the university wide plan for the incorporation of instructional computing into all disciplines. Instructor in the NSF funded summer workshops for retraining middle and high school teachers (Making Everybody Count, Making Math Count, and PRISM). Past editor of the AMES newsletter.

James A. Boyless, Undergraduate Academic Advisor and Research Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering (P.E., Ph.D. in Special Education & Rehabilitation 1993, joined UA 1995). Schooled in Mechanical, Human Factors, and Systems Engineering. Has expertise in accessibility, accommodation, and modification of homes, workplaces, and environments for persons with disabilities, in program management and project direction, and in program evaluation. President of the Board of Directors of the Technology Access Center of Tucson. Project Manager.

Georgia Ehlers, Coordinator of Grant & Scholarship Development, UA Graduate College, (M.S. in Community & Regional Planning 1977, joined UA 1993). Develops new programs in support of graduate education and research. She works directly with students and has developed programs for Project ACCESS, a program to encourage minority students to seek graduate education. She has 27 years of experience in community planning and development. She received services for an orthopedic impairment in middle school.

Glen C. Gerhard, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Interim Head (Ph.D. 1963, joined UA 1990). Emeritus Professor, former Director of the Biomedical Engineering Center at the University of New Hampshire (1967-91). Interests include removal of architectural barriers in instructional facilities, especially lab, and the development and use of innovative technology to enhance learning for disabled students.

Kent Kloepping, Director of Center for Disability Related Resources since 1975 (Ed.D. in Rehabilitation 1972, joined UA 1967). Been a PI for 15-20 research grants. Physically disabled for 52 years.

Ali Mehrabian, Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Physically disabled for more than 10 years. Member of several advisory committees for student affairs and ADA task committees. President of the Organization of Students with Disabilities, and former president of the Association of Students with Disabilities. Elected representative of the College of Engineering to the Graduate and Professional Student Council.

John Olson, Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Physically disabled entire life. Appointed member of the Southern Arizona MDA Task Force on Public Awareness and several other disability organizations. Vice-President of the Organization of Students with Disabilities. Gives talks to elementary school students about disabilities and being disabled.

Alwyn Scott, Professor of Mathematics (Ph.D. 1961, joined UA 1987). Author of "Stairway To The Mind - The Controversial New Science of Consciousness", "Active and Nonlinear Propagation in Electronics", and "Neurophysics". Founding editor of "Physica D - Nonlinear Phenomena" and founding director of the Center for Nonlinear Studies at Los Alamos. Physically disabled for over 10 years.

Jonathan Alberding, Graduate Student, Department of Physics, UA, physically disabled.

William Bickel, Professor of Physics and University Distinguished Professor, UA.

David Corsi, Disability Specialist, Center for Disability Related Resources, UA.

Jennifer Croissant, Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, UA.

Richard Greenberg, Professor, Department of Planetary Sciences, UA, Director of Science and Mathematics Education Center.

Thomas J. Hixon, Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Director of the National Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders, Dean of the Graduate College, Assistant Vice President for Research at UA.

Eric Olson, Optical Engineering Student, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA, physically disabled. Officer of the Organization of Students with Disabilities. Electronics and Electro-optics Engineer for 27 years, Chief Engineer and Vice President of Engineering. Has experience in Technical Marketing—where a technically-aware engineer obtains contracts from powerful people in industry—and in Headhunting.

Terri Riffe, Director of the University Teaching Center and the Faculty Development Partnership, UA.

Jerzy Rozenblit, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, UA.

Tod Santee, Environmental Biology Teacher, Tucson High Math Science Magnet School, Tucson Unified School District, physically disabled.

Noël White, Program Coordinator, Department of Career Services, UA, physically disabled.

The diverse UA departments and organizations that will cooperate and participate in this project, are the College of Engineering, the College of Science, the Graduate College, the Department of Career Services, Center for Disability Related Resources, Science and Mathematics Education Center, and University Teaching Center. All these organizations are represented by the PIs and members of the Advisory Committee.

The project will establish a website for the dissemination of materials with links to other appropriate sites, such as CeDRR and UTC. Materials will also be made available to others, such as CeDRR, UTC, the Graduate College, individual departments in SMET, and to SAMEC. The UTC’s publications will be used to distribute appropriate materials, as will the training sessions for faculty and teaching assistants. We anticipate the development of an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), assessment materials, and summaries of workshops with teachers, as well as teaching modules for working with international faculty and teaching assistants.

In addition to the website, we will produce and disseminate the following products.

(a) A manual describing how to design or modify labs to accommodate students who are physically disabled. (b) A training module for GTAs and for faculty, particularly international faculty. (c) A video that models effective strategies for confronting issues that students with disabilities might have in classroom and laboratory settings. (d) A general disability related course (perhaps called "Disability and Society") at the freshman level and offered for credit to students at the UA. (e) A compilation of the teachers’ reports that resulted from the Encouragement Grants. (f) A synopsis of the final projects that resulted from the Summer Institutes.

Our ultimate objective is to design this project in such a way that it continues indefinitely beyond the life of the NSF grant.

The University of Arizona, an R-1 institution, ranked 10th for research among the public institutions, has over 35,000 students. The UA is a nationally recognized leader in serving students with disabilities, with excellent physical facilities and a corresponding array of programs available for these individuals. Strong advocacy and involvement from the campus community, including three student organizations—Association of Students with Disabilities, Organization of Students with Disabilities, and the Cerulean Council—not only strengthens but also underscores the continuing institutional commitment to these populations. As an example, the mission of the UA Center for Disability-Related Resources (CeDRR) is to equalize educational opportunities for students with disabilities and provide support services. Established in 1970, CeDRR now serves over 1000 UA individuals with a staff of 32 professionals and 270 student workers.

The above resources, the moderate climate of Tucson, and the geography, attracts students who are physically disabled to UA from all across America, and, more increasingly, from the international scene.

Also based in Tucson are facilities which conduct research for persons with disabilities, including the NIH Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders and the Muscular Dystrophy Association national headquarters. Other organizations that will be encouraged to assist us during the project period are the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind, the Tucson Association for the Blind, the SouthWestern Blind Rehabilitation Center, Pilot Parents, and the US Mexico Disability Resource Consortium, Department on Developmental Disabilities and Rehabilitation Services Administration (both are State of Arizona Department of Economic Security offices).

Tucson also houses the Technology Access Center of Tucson (TACT), which is a consumer driven organization that strives to include technology in the lives of persons with disabilities to increase the possibilities of success at home, in school, and at work. TACT works actively with parents, schools, and other organizations to increase the knowledge that technology may be the bridge that persons with disabilities need to make them productive members of their communities. To this end, TACT offers guided explorations, information, and advocacy to all persons seeking assistance. TACT has at its disposal, several highly technical computer devices to demonstrate capabilities in word processing, speech language acquisition, mathematics, and reading. One of our PIs, Jim Boyless, is the President of the Board of Directors of the Technology Access Center of Tucson.

The alliance of the diverse UA departments and units that this proposal has drawn together demonstrates our interest and commitment to this project. The UA has previous experience running summer institutes for school students (e.g. APEX, MESA, Project ACCESS, the Apache summer math workshops, the summer math camps, and the Summer Research Institute.) Other programs in the sciences and engineering also have extensive programs of outreach with area and statewide teachers and students, including Lunar and Planetary Science and the Manduca Project.

We have the support of the UA central administration in the person of Dr Paul Sypherd, Interim President and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, see attached letter. The UA Vice President for Research (Dr Mike Cusanovich), the Dean of the Graduate College (Dr Tom Hixon), and the Dean of the College of Science (Dr Gene Levy) have collectively pledged over $25,000 per year for three years in matching funds to the project.