Dear Campus Community:

As many of you know, Humboldt State has an ongoing commitment to provide full access to information and technology resources to people with disabilities. With the introduction of the CSU’s Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI), we have a unique opportunity to collaborate with other universities in the CSU system to implement this commitment to all of our students.

The ATI is a California State University mandate requiring that we, along with the other institutions of the CSU, comply with State and Federal statutes regarding universal access to our web sites, instructional media, and electronic equipment. I wish to stress, however, that these efforts are not just a response to a mandate; instead, they are an integral part of our dedication to supporting all students, faculty, and staff.

The vision of ATI is to expand our culture of an inclusive learning and working environment by moving away from an approach that requires individuals to request accommodations, and moves toward an approach that builds in the capacity to provide access to anyone.

I am committed to Humboldt State’s continued demonstration of leadership in instructional and informational technology and I extend my personal thanks to the Academic Senate for its involvement and consultation in adopting a resolution that affirms our commitment to equal access.

The Executive Sponsors of Humboldt State’s ATI Team are Anna Kircher, Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services, and Kevin O’Brien, Director, Student Disability Resource Center. Together with other Executive Committee team members, they are well along on a rigorous timetable to develop the pertinent guidelines and implementation strategies, and to assemble the requisite tools and resources. The ATI is an exceptionally demanding task and I thank Anna, Kevin, and their committee colleagues for their leadership and hard work.

It will take the work of everyone to achieve over time our goal of complete accessibility. I therefore urge our deans, department chairs, and program administrators to assist the ATI Team in its efforts to achieve full statutory and policy compliance. As a first step, I ask each of you to take the time to become better acquainted with the ATI. A good place to begin is the CSU web site at http://www.calstate.edu/accessibility/.

If you know of colleagues without routine access to email or a computer, please share a copy of this message with them so that everyone can prepare to be part of this campus-wide effort.

Thanks and regards,
Rollin