The Velvet Hammer: Accessible Procurement Buy-In and Pushback at Cal State San Bernardino

Media

Presented at 4:20pm in Meadowbrook I/II on Thursday, November 21, 2019.

#29482

Speaker(s)

  • Leon McNaught, Director, Digital Accessibility, California State University, Los Angeles
  • Christine Fundell, Digital Content Accessibility Specialist, CSU San Bernardino
  • Constance Jones, Accessible Procurement Specialist, CSU San Bernardino

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: All Levels
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

This presentation will discuss strategies used to achieve buy-in and mitigate resistance to the CSU Accessible Procurement Process at CSUSB. We will also highlight lessons learned over the past two years.

Abstract

Cal State San Bernardino is two years into the implementation of the CSU Accessible Procurement Framework. This presentation will highlight strategies required to change campus culture, including buy-in from various departments throughout the university such as Information Security, Purchasing, Auxiliaries, requestors, and various levels of management and executives.

In addition to internal change, Accessible Technology had to simultaneously manage vendor expectations on this new process. We will also discuss strategies for working with a variety of vendors who are either collaborative or non-cooperative and the end result for the campus and requestor in these various situations.

Successful implementation requires a delicate balance between acquiescing to unreasonable expectations and ultimately achieving cooperation in adhering to the process.

Keypoints

  1. Strategies to Achieve Stakeholder Buy-in
  2. Managing Requester and Vendor Expectations
  3. Negative and Positive Outcomes

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Procurement, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Leon McNaught

Leon McNaught is the Director of Digital Accessibility at Cal State LA. His work at the Los Angeles campus includes implementing the CSU system-wide Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI), a Capability Maturity Model framework, to improve digital accessibility among higher education stakeholders. ATI focuses on three priority areas: web, instructional materials, and procurement. Leon’s other work includes accessibility consulting, and he is the Vice Chairperson on the board of Blindness Support Services in Riverside, CA. Leon has worked in the field of assistive technology and accessibility in higher education for 29 years, which provides a breadth of experience in an ever-changing field.

Christine Fundell

Christine Fundell is the Digital Content Accessibility Specialist at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and has 12 years experience helping students with disabilities achieve equitable access to educational materials. Christine started out in the field as the program coordinator for the campus assistive technology lab. As her job evolved, she obtained certification in accessibility and became the resident expert on accessible instructional materials and digital content. As CSUSB’s need for a more stringent accessible procurement process emerged, Christine’s duties expanded to include an active role in the reinvention of that process. Christine is a member of CSU’s Accessible Technology Network, which leverages her expertise as an accessibility specialist. Christine is an alumna of CSUSB, having earned her B.A. in Psychology and her graduate degree in Public Administration.

Constance Jones

Constance Jones began working in the Disability and Assistive Technology field many years ago at the University of California, Riverside where she completed her B.A. in History. She continued to work in the disability field while earning an M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling. During her tenure at Cal State San Bernardino, Connie worked as the Physical/Visual Counselor in the Services to Students with Disabilities office for 12 years. Last year she began as the Accessible Procurement Specialist in Accessible Technolgy. in her role, Constance performs critical reviews of vendor accessibility conformance documentation and is a member of CSU’s Accessible Technology Network, which leverages her expertise as an accessibility specialist. Additionally, Connie has various certifications in disability-related fields.