The Center on Disabilities at California State University, Northridge will award Dr. Catherine Fichten its Fred Strache Leadership Award at the Annual International Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference in March 2016. This conference, commonly known as the CSUN Conference, is the largest, oldest and only university-sponsored conference of its kind.

It is now in its 31st year of providing an inclusive setting for researchers, practitioners, exhibitors, end users, speakers and participants to share knowledge and best practices in the field of assistive technology.

Each year, the Center selects a qualified candidate to receive the Fred Strache Leadership Award which is presented during the Keynote Address on Tuesday evening at our event. The Strache Award recognizes the leadership of the recipient in the fields of disability and technology. Specifically, the award acknowledges that the recipient continues to work with students as an educator and a mentor, while remaining a leader in their respective field through publications, presentations and research.

Catherine will be recognized for her outstanding contributions to the field of disability research, education and technology as co-director (with Jennison Asuncion) of the Adaptech Research Network at Dawson College. The Adaptech Research Network is a team of academics, students and consumers who conduct research involving college and university students with a variety of disabilities in Canada since 1996.

They focus on three main areas:

• Use and accessibility of information and communication technologies in postsecondary education,
• Facilitators and barriers to academic success, and
• Free or inexpensive software useful to students with various disabilities.

Adaptech’s goal is to provide empirically based information to assist and inform decision making that ensures that new policies and new information and communication technologies reflect the needs and concerns of a variety of stakeholders including:

• College and university students with a variety of disabilities,
• The professors who teach them, and
• The campus service providers who make technological, adaptive, and other supports available to the higher education community.