AccessSTEM Capacity Building Institute (2007)

January 10 - 12, 2007
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington

Exploring ways to increase the participation of people with disabilities in all Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) projects and, ultimately, in careers was the goal of participants in this two-and-a-half day Capacity-Building Institute (CBI). The AccessSTEM CBI provided a forum for comparing recruitment and access challenges, sharing successful practices, developing collaborations, and otherwise increasing the capacity of all NSF-funded projects to serve individuals with disabilities.

Speakers and panelists were also CBI participants; many have disabilities and/or are women or racial/ethnic minorities. Broad issue areas discussed included K-12 education, recruitment/transition to higher education, retention in higher education, graduate school enrollment and retention, and employment.

AccessSTEM Capacity-Building Institute outcomes benefit society by making STEM opportunities available to more citizens and enhancing STEM fields with the perspectives of people with disabilities.

For accessible versions of presentations see Mark Leddy's Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering and Sheryl Burgstahler's AccessSTEM 2007 Capacity Building Institute.

See also: Broadening Participation by Welcoming Participants with Disabilities - How to make projects welcoming and accessible to participants with disabilities.