Heather Kadrich
The first Tower Guard class, courtesy of the MSU Archive
The start of classes brings challenges for Amanda Gretka and other students with print-related disabilities including blindness, learning disabilities and motoric challenges that many would not imagine. Take textbooks for example. The majority of students get their book lists, head over to one of the bookstores, and then return to their dorm or apartment to begin studying. For Amanda, purchasing the book is but the first step of an involved process that ultimately makes the book usable for her and others like her. Thanks to leadership from the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, partnership from organizations within and outside the university, and investment from generous donors, MSU students like Amanda receive their books in formats that are compatible with their disabilities.
"I was at a different university my freshman year and would typically receive my alternative textbooks just about the week before finals," says Gretka. "Having my books in alternative formats, to me, means I am able to succeed. It means equality because it allows me to have the same materials as every other person in the class."
MSU's tradition of making education accessible to students with disabilities began with the 1934 founding of the Tower Guard, a sophomore honor society created to build character, leadership, scholarship and a spirit of service by reading books aloud to students who were blind. While 75 years of service evolution has changed the techniques for accessibility, the goal of Tower Guard remains steadfast. Today, most of Tower Guard's work is done on computer. The materials are scanned, formatted, and edited. These electronic books are then uploaded to a secure online books system ready for timely rendition in a range of formats from magnified text to computer-synthesized speech or even Braille. Tom Hwang, RCPD Media Access Specialist, says, "We need technologically savvy, detail oriented students to do this work, because if it is not produced correctly it is not useful to the students. Top quality, accuracy and timely production are our main goals." Without Tower Guard this would be a daunting task at best. The 1972 founding of the RCPD created a partnership with Tower Guard that accelerated material production for students. Today, technology boosts capacity, efficiency and effectiveness in many ways. Director Michael Hudson recalls the important advancements in the past 10 years that maintained this leading edge capacity. "We leveraged an important early investment in the RCPD by the Samaritan Foundation along with technological support from the Vice-Provost for Libraries, Computing and Technology to reinforce our national leadership in timely and effective production." By 2006, Director Hudson sought to further refine the RCPD accessible text program by meeting the need for careful coordination of the increasingly technical accessible textbook program. "In order for the books program to grow we needed a Media Access Specialist," says Hudson. Hudson hired Tom Hwang as the RCPD's first, and one of the first anywhere, Media Access Specialists. "Tom brings important new synergy to existing partnerships and furthers our deployment of technology in this long-standing effort" remarks Hudson. Hwang's coordination and leadership is instrumental in keeping MSU's accessible books program one of the best in the nation.
RCPD capacity to provide accessible textbooks was again boosted in 2008 with support from Richard and Kathleen Carlson. Their establishment of the Carlson Accessible Media Program (CAMP) endowment followed a sense of gratitude for the services their daughter received as an MSU student. CAMP exists to ensure access to educational materials and that objective is well underway. In the spring of 2009, MSU was featured as one of ten higher education programs nationally listed as a foundational partner in the Bookshare.org initiative. MSU leadership is helping students with print-related disabilities across the nation gain access to quality educational materials. MSU accessibility leadership began and remains today a partnership founded on the MSU land and world grant principles. Every day students, staff and alumni are showcasing how people with significant disabilities are reaching educational and career objectives despite often overlooked hurdles.