ATHEN:About

From ATHEN

bocdom ATHEN was formed to meet a critical need for a professional identity and build a collective understanding of what it means to work in the field of Access Technology in Higher Education. While other organizations exist that work on parallel tracks in disability services, the founding membership felt that a targeted organization was needed to fulfill the collective needs of the membership. A secondary driving force is the creation of professional development activities for Access Technologists that mirror similar career tracks in other areas of IT management and service delivery.

ATHEN was formed in the spring of 2002 at the CSUN conference in Los Angeles, in a collective meeting of 50 of the leaders in the rapidly growing field serving the technology access needs of individuals with disabilities in a variety of adult educational venues. This meeting was the result of several years of discussion of the need for a professional organization, and a couple of gently pushes from my colleges to quit talking about it and do it!

The primary goals of ATHEN are:

• Acquiring, sharing, and dissemination of best practices in Access Technologies (AT), including:
• AT training materials
• Core-Curriculum
• Promote the establishment of Degree Programs
• The establishment of a professional identity for those who practice AT in Higher Education.
• The development of Professional Standards of Practice for AT in Higher Education.
• Present a collective voice for the professional practice of AT service delivery.
• The development of a credentialing process AT Professionals in Higher Education.

If your are working in the area of Access Technology, or in any other related area of service delivery to adults with disabilities it is my sincere hope that you will consider becoming an active member of ATHEN. For more information about the organization please visit our website at: athenpro.org