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Ron Stewart Professional Development Award

Nomination & Application Form

In honor of one of the founding members of ATHEN, the ATHEN membership introduced the Ron Stewart Professional Development Award.

Ron Stewart was an instrumental figure and champion of access technology in higher education. During his career in higher education, he saw that there were many small localized professional organizations for those working in higher education to support the needs of students, faculty, & staff with disabilities. However, there was no national organization for these professionals. To rectify this, in 2002, Ron Stewart helped to start the Access Technology Higher Education Network (ATHEN) while continuing to work in the field of access technology. ATHEN has flourished into an international organization to collect and disseminate best practices in access technology in the higher education environment as well as present a collective voice for the professional practice of access technology in higher education. ATHEN has become a continual sponsor of the Accessing Higher Ground conference.

The Ron Stewart Professional Development Award purpose is to continue Ron’s mission to nurture access technology professionals in higher education. To accomplish this, the Award will support a first-time attendee to participate in the Accessing Higher Ground conference.

The application deadline is August 30, 2019.

Professional Development Award

  • Standard Main Conference Registration Package for 2019 Accessing Higher Ground Conference. Includes all workshops, Wednesday to Friday (keynote dinner not included).
  • Hotel accommodations for the conference (up to 3 nights) at the official conference hotel, Westin Westminster.
  • Professional Membership in ATHEN for 1 year.

Please note: Recipient with be responsible for all travel costs and meals. No monetary award or reimbursement is provided.

Eligibility

  • Never attended the Accessing Higher Ground conference.
  • Currently employed at a post-secondary institution in the field of access technology.

Application Requirements and Process

Deadline for submission is August 30, 2019. The application process requires the following:

  1. Nomination by a current ATHEN member (Google Form) (self-sponsorship allowed) 
    • Once the Nomination Form (Google Form) is submitted, ATHEN member status will be verified to ensure a complete submission for applicant.
    • An email will be sent to Nominator and Nominee within 48 busines hours of submission with information for completing the application
       
  2. Completed applicant information via emailed Google Form.
  3. Letter of support from management or equivalent at current institution to be emailed to pdaward@athenpro.org

The applicant is responsible for ensuring that all items are submitted to ATHEN before August 30, 2019. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

    Selection Committee

    Applications will be considered by the ATHEN Executive Council.

    Application Submission 

    Terms and Conditions

    • Applicants will be notified of their award status by mid-late September, 2019.
    • Recipient will be responsible for all travel costs and meals.
    • No monetary award or reimbursement is provided.
    • If you are unable to attend the conference in the year that you were awarded, your scholarship is forfeit. 

    Questions

    Questions can be directed to: pdaward@athenpro.org