The National Federation of the Blind administers an accessibility inclusion fellowship program under a non-visual accessibility initiative grant from the State of Maryland.
The Accessibility Inclusion Fellowship is a one-year fellowship awarded by the National Federation of the Blind to three Maryland professors to assist them integrate accessibility into their curriculum and incorporate nonvisual teaching methods in at least one course. In addition to providing a 2,000 dollar financial award to each professor, we work individually with the professors/instructors to brainstorm solutions to their accessibility challenges, help them develop and implement an accessibility action plan, and provide meaningful educational resources and tools.
As a result of their enhanced knowledge and skills, our Accessibility Fellows create greater access to their courses by all students, while empowering their students to enculturate accessibility in their future endeavors. Students with these skills are in extreme demand in the marketplace.
Our work with the Accessibility Fellows will include:
- Meetings with the NFB access technology team and other staff members to educate, inform, and problem-solve various strategies for making courses accessible.
- Tours of the NFB, including our International Braille and Technology Center (IBTC), an extremely thorough collection of nonvisual access technology.
- Classroom presentations by the NFB’s access tech specialists.
- Student presentations to our access tech specialists, who then provide feedback to the students.
- Accessibility resources and materials.
- Recommendations of upcoming, relevant accessibility seminars, conferences, and boutiques
Application
The application period has ended. Please stay tuned for information about our next cohort.
Our Fellows
Congratulations to our 2025 Fellows:
Leena Malayil
Assistant Research Professor
University of Maryland, College Park
Course: Every Drop Counts: Water, Food and Global Public Health
Woobin Park
Associate Professor of Practice in Music
Washington College
Course: Music
Huaishu Peng
Assistant Professor
University of Maryland
Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction
Shannon Tucker
Assistant Dean of Instructional Design and Technology
University of Maryland, Baltimore;
Course: Professional Communication Strategies