Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - An emerging concept across such disciples as architecture, product design, engineering, environmental design and education is "universal design," the idea that products and the environment in which people live and work will be designed in such a way as to be accessible to all. That concept is at the core of a new course being offered this spring at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Collaborative Leadership (TCHG 4530/6530) is a cross curricular course being facilitated by four seminar leaders and involving faculty across the UWP campus. The primary focus of the course will be to design products, use technology and present information that is accessible to all, within the context of the campus community.

According to Sheryl Burgstahler, director of Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology (DO-IT) and Accessible

Technology Services and Outreach at the University of Washington, universal design, as the name implies, strives to meet the needs of everyone.

"Making a product or environment accessible to people with disabilities often benefits others. For example, sidewalk curb cuts, designed to make sidewalks and streets accessible to those using wheelchairs, are today often used by kids on skateboards, parents with baby strollers and delivery staff with rolling carts. When television displays in noisy areas of airports and restaurants are captioned, they are more accessible to people who are deaf and to everyone else," she wrote in material provided by DO-IT.

Ben Collins, professor of mathematics at UWP and one of the four facilitators for the course, explained why the course developers tied the concept of universal design to leadership. "We framed it in terms of leadership because the mark of modern leadership is recognizing people's differences and using them as strengths. Good leaders create environments where information and products are accessible to all," he said.

Another course facilitator, Julie Phillips, professor of education, explained that a major component of the course will be an action research collaborative project designed to engage and enhance the UWP campus community. Students will also identify opportunities for raising awareness consistent with learner-centered principles.

"We plan to use a wide array of campus resources and involve as many faculty and staff from across campus as possible. This is going to be an exciting and innovative course," she said.

The idea for Collaborative Leadership began when Chancellor David Markee and members of the UWP community attended a weeklong workshop at the National Faculty Center (NFC) in Tuscon, Ariz., in May 2005. Following the conference, Markee asked the team members to develop a project that would reflect their training at NFC. In addition to Phillips and Collins, LeAnn Leahy and Daniel Frommelt will facilitate the course this spring. Leahy is the Disability Services Specialist for the UWP Services for Students with Disabilities office. Frommelt is the UWP World Wide Web Coordinator for UWP.

Several students across disciplines have already registered for the course, but there are still openings available. Anyone interested in registering for the course should contact the registrar's office at (608) 342-1321; anyone interested in learning more about the course may contact Phillips at (608) 342-1673 or Collins at (608) 342-1746.

Contact: Julie Phillips, professor, School of Education, (608) 342-1673, phillipj@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: Evelyn Martens, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, martense@uwplatt.edu