A Capacity Building Institute (CBI) and Conference were held at the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Corbett Center Ballrooms on October 1-2, 2013. The event was a collaborative effort from the NMSU Provost’s office, Project Enable, the NMSU Student Accessibility Services Office, and AccessComputing. Forty participants attended, representing several different departments on campus, ranging from General Counsel to the Research Library.
The first day of the event consisted of presentations about accessible technology and universal design, as well as a student panel and keynote talk. On the second day, several local and on-campus service providers were invited to present on the services they provide and how they can support the faculty and staff of NMSU.
Featured speakers included Sheryl Burgstahler and Richard Ladner from AccessComputing, Cody Unser from the Cody Unser First Step Foundation, Jim Parker from the New Mexico Governor’s Commission on Disability, and representatives from the Student Accessibility Services Office and the Military and Veterans Services Office. Panels and presentations afforded an opportunity for faculty and staff at NMSU to learn how they can improve the campus. Perhaps the biggest effect from this event is a greater connectedness between service providers, students, faculty, and staff. Several programs on campus have started plans to make this conference a regular event on the NMSU campus.