The Carlson Accessible Media Endowment

The Carlson Accessible Media Program (CAMP) supports the RCPD accessible media production and development and provides Richard and Kathleen Carlson with a unique role in impacting MSU students, faculty and staff.  

The Carlsons' interest in supporting the RCPD stems from prior experiences with the office when their daughter was an MSU student. Initially unsure of identifying herself as a person with a disability, Margaret later discovered RCPD accessible media-in her case audio text-through the encouragement of a friend. She graduated with a business degree from MSU and became a proactive, successful adult who asserted herself and encouraged others to accept her as she was. Michael Hudson, RCPD director, highlights the importance in linking members of the MSU community to resources in the center: "Margaret, through her personal and professional success, exemplifies what is possible when individual talent combines with a strong work ethic and a little help from the RCPD."

For many, the concept of accessible media is foreign, but for others it represents a spectrum of opportunities in audio, video, and digital format. Approximately two hundred MSU staff and faculty join over 1,000 students utilizing RCPD in ways tailored to meet individualized needs. Beyond a team of professionals specialized in disability issues, RCPD resources range from voice-operated computer systems to magnification software to a host of screen readers.

Tom Hwang, Media Access Specialist for the center, identifies how this ever-changing area of technology serves the MSU community. "I appreciate that the Carlsons recognize the importance of this type of innovation. Through media and alternative-format production such as e-text, Braille, and audio books, staff and faculty are able to access their chosen text material, or ensure that students taking their courses have access to all of the course materials, such as power point presentations, pdf files, and maps." Hwang, along with Stephen Blosser, Assistive Technology Specialist, provide individual technological guidance to professors in order to enhance teaching practices. For example, they recently guided a visually impaired instructor to choose the best screen reader or magnification software to improve his instruction with power point presentations. 

The CAMP endowment will also energize future development in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) content. Formerly inaccessible to students and professors, this should become a particularly bright point of opportunity.   Services such as these lay the groundwork for many individuals' success here at MSU, and remain a reason why financial contributions from families like the Carlsons remain vital.
 
"We are delighted that the Carlsons chose to invest in the MSU learning community by founding this endowment. CAMP promises to keep this university at the forefront of accessibility in a myriad of new educational materials from textbooks to video and emerging online tools," says Michael Hudson. Kathleen and Richard Carlson echo this enthusiasm, and reflect a strong desire to increase awareness of the RCPD as a great resource for all of MSU: "Every individual needs the chance to demonstrate his or her abilities; the RCPD helps to facilitate those abilities."   

Gifts to The Carlson Accessible Media Endowment will accelerate MSU advancement in a range of educational media from electronic textbooks, Braille (including scientific and mathematic), and large-print to emerging forms of online media. If you are interested in making a gift, please contact the Student Services Advancement Office at (517) 355-7535 or make a gift online.