Accessing Career Choices in Engineering and the ScienceS




Summer Camp 2002 Pictures!!

 

Program ACCESS, a new program of The University of Arizona and the National Science Foundation, seeks to increase the number of Arizona students with physical disabilities who pursue study and careers in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (SMET) fields.

Program ACCESS provides programs for Arizona students with physical disabilities in middle school, high school, and university with an interest in SMET. The program provides training for teachers, counselors, faculty, and teaching assistants who can foster the interests of students with disabilities in SMET fields. Teachers and counselors may apply for grants for individual projects to enhance their skills dealing with disabilities. It also establishes mentoring and partnership programs with SMET professionals, advanced students, and younger students. Program ACCESS seeks to identify and remove barriers at The University of Arizona and in Tucson area middle and high schools, which reduce the ability of students with disabilities to participate fully in SMET research and learning experiences.

Our goal is to promote a high level of academic and professional success in SMET fields among students with disabilities by encouraging the removal of architectural, technological, and societal barriers that presently exist and which impede access and success in these fields.

1. Increase the proportion of students with disabilities who pursue SMET subjects in middle school, high school, and at a university.

2. Establish mentoring programs among secondary school students, university undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and industry professionals.

3. Eradicate stereotyping and to encourage pursuit of SMET related study and career planning through teacher, counselor and faculty development programs.

4. Transform UA SMET laboratories and facilities into barrier free environments.

Eight interrelated programs are being established through Program ACCESS over a three-year period beginning in the summer of 1998.

• Student Outreach Programs for middle/high school students with disabilities
• Summer Camp for 30 middle school students with physical disabilities for an exciting introduction to the UA
• Undergraduate mentoring programs

• Training Workshops for middle/high school teachers and counselors
• Faculty development workshops for UA faculty and graduate teaching assistants
• Competitive encouragement grants for teachers and counselors to foster the interests of students with disabilities in SMET fields of study

• Mentoring programs with career professionals with disabilities

• Laboratory and facilities surveys and evaluations of selected UA laboratories and area schools

The University of Arizona serves over 1,000 students with disabilities, and is ranked as one of the most accessible campuses in the United States. We believe that the opportunity to study, conduct research, and establish a career in science, math, engineering, and technology fields is an accessible goal for students regardless of physical ability.

Program ACCESS, sponsored by the Department of Mathematics, is a multi-disciplinary program at The University of Arizona, involving faculty, staff, and students with disabilities from the College of Science, The College of Engineering & Mines, the Graduate College, the University Teaching Center, the Center for Disability Related Resources (CeDRR), the Department of Career Services and The Science and Mathematics Education Center (SAMEC).

"I seem to manage to do anything that I really want." Stephen Hawking,

Physicist. Dr. Hawking serves as a mentor to Program ACCESS.