Commission on Disabilities
Meeting #1
10/19/04, 3 PM, Kirby 311

Call to order 3:05PM

Minutes by: Shelly DeCaigny

Present: Georgia Keeney, Shelly DeCaigny, Roger Petry, Beth Esselstrom, Kora Cavanaugh, Nancy Diener, Raj Karim, Penny Cragun, Mags David, and Judy Bromen.

Excused: Trudie Hughes, John Wieske, Ken Norstrud, Deborah Petersen-Perlman, and Judy Salyards

Minutes From 4/26/04 Meeting:

Minutes approved.

Member Recruitment:

The College of Liberal Arts and the School of Fine Arts will be contacted for new membership. Students involved with Disability Resources and Services will be asked to continue/begin involvement.

Admission of Graduate Students With Disabilities:

Raj Karim led the discussion. There is space for a grad student with a disability in his lab.

As members of the Commission on Disabilities, we cannot divulge students personal
Information. It is important for students to contact the department regarding concerns.

A student's GPA does not strictly determine admission into grad school. Applicants' GRE scores and letters of recommendation are very important also.

Planning for the Year:

We may contact Jason Davis to find a student to update our website. Students interested in the web design contest may want to help with our website. It should be flashier, less wordy, up-to-date, and accessible for all. Roger will update the current website.

Annual Report & Budget:

Georgia Keeney presented the Annual Report for 2003-2004. We don't have a written report of money spent last year. Cathy Rackliffe can provide that to us. The proposed budget for this year is similar to last year's.

Captioned Media Use:

We need to educate people about captioned media use. It was suggested that a task force be pulled together.

Visual Concerns With Computer Documents:

Some people with visual concerns may be unable to read all computer documents. It is sometimes necessary to change background colors.

Library Accessibility Report:

Mags David presented a report from The UMD Library Accessibility Services Advisory Team. It was suggested that we make a recommendation to Vince Magnuson for an "Assistive Technology Tsar."

Kirby Plaza Remodeling:

The desk at Print Services is very low and approachable. Please keep your eyes on the new construction for future discussion.

Video - "How Accessible is UMD," by Tara Isaacs:

Tara's video will be shown in November to Greg Fox and department heads. Tara will take shots of the new construction. This will be added to the video.

Power Doors:

There should be power doors between the School of Business and the College of Science and Engineering. Facilities Management should be contacted regarding this issue.

Next Meeting:

Our next meeting will take place on November 30 at 3:00 p.m. The location is TBA.

Adjourned 4:00PM.