Fwd: Text and Signatories of University Presidents Letter

>From: Jonathan_M._Young@who.eop.gov
>Subject: Text and Signatories of University Presidents Letter



>Below please find the letter sent to President Clinton in conjunction with
>the President's Digital Divide trip to Flint, Michigan on September 21.  It
>summarizes actions universities will take to help make information and
>communications technologies accessible to people with disabilities.  Many
>thanks to all the university presidents for supporting this important
>endeavor.  The letter below includes all the individual signatories.
>
>
>=================================================
>
>
>                             September 20, 2000
>
>
>The Honorable William J. Clinton
>President of the United States
>1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
>Washington, DC  20500
>
>
>Dear Mr. President,
>
>As the Presidents of a number of America's leading research universities,
>we are writing to express our support for your efforts to make information
>and communications technologies more accessible for people with
>disabilities, and to describe what our universities are prepared to do to
>support this objective.
>
>This is an important goal.  If we design information and communications
>technologies so that they are accessible, people with disabilities will
>find it much easier to live, learn and work as we enter the Information
>Age.  If we fail to do this, people with disabilities could become
>increasingly isolated from the economic and social mainstream.
>
>As universities with strong programs in engineering and computer science,
>we believe that we can make a significant contribution to this national
>goal.  We educate the next generation of IT professionals and
>entrepreneurs, and provide continuing education for IT experts that are
>already in the workforce.  Our faculty conducts the long-term research that
>often shapes and influences future developments in the information and
>communications industry, and which could lead to breakthroughs in
>accessibility.  Each of our universities has unique assets that we can
>bring to bear on this problem, but we are all committed to taking concrete
>steps in this area.  We will work to:
>
>+      Make "universal design" and accessibility part of the education that
>we provide to computer scientists and engineers at all levels --
>undergraduate, graduate and continuing education;
>
>+      Ensure that our Web sites and on-line resources are accessible to
>people with disabilities;
>
>+      Look for ways to increase support for research to improve the
>state-of-the-art in this area by seeking federal, state, private sector and
>foundation funding -- and providing internal "seed funding" to new or
>existing faculty that wish to pursue this as a research topic;
>
>+      Contribute to efforts by the federal government to develop a
>comprehensive research agenda in this area;
>
>+      Help train experts who can serve as a national resource on this
>issue by participating in standards-setting efforts that incorporate
>accessibility, evaluating the accessibility of IT products and services,
>and providing technical assistance to companies seeking to enhance the

>accessibility of their products and services;
>
>+      Develop a strategy for increasing participation of people with
>disabilities in our computer science and engineering programs; and
>
>+      Encourage our faculty who are developing cutting-edge applications
>of IT to consider accessibility concerns.
>
>Thank you for your leadership in this important area.
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>President Richard Atkinson
>University of California System
>
>President David Baltimore
>California Institute of Technology
>
>President Henry S. Bienen
>Northwestern University
>
>President Sheila E. Blumstein
>Brown University
>
>President Lee C. Bollinger
>University of Michigan
>
>President William R. Brody
>The Johns Hopkins University
>
>President Carol A. Cartwright
>Kent State University
>
>President G. Wayne Clough
>Georgia Institute of Technology
>
>President Jared L. Cohon
>Carnegie Mellon University
>
>President Scott S. Cowen
>Tulane University
>
>President Larry R. Faulkner
>The University of Texas at Austin
>
>Chancellor Robert Hemenway
>The University of Kansas
>
>President Martin C. Jischke
>Purdue University
>
>President William E. Kirwan
>The Ohio State University
>
>President Donald N. Langenberg
>University of Maryland System
>
>President Francis L. Lawrence
>Rutgers, The State of University of New Jersey
>
>President Katharine C. Lyall
>University of Wisconsin System
>
>President Peter McPherson
>Michigan State University
>
>Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg
>University of Pittsburgh
>
>President Charles W. Steger
>Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
>
>President James J. Stukel
>University of Illinois
>
>President Charles M. Vest
>Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>
>Chancellor David Ward
>University of Wisconsin-Madison
>
>Chancellor James H. Woodward
>University of North Carolina at Charlotte
>
>Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton
>Washington University in St. Louis

Received on Monday, 9 October 2000 12:22:02 UTC