Accessibility Awareness Day

Accessibility Awareness Day: October 9, 2025

Join the University of South Dakota for a celebration of learner variability and World Sight Day. The second annual Accessibility Awareness Day. This inspiring event is dedicated to raising awareness about digital accessibility, learner variability, and the power of assistive technology. Our keynote speaker is Laura Bostick, the former President of National Organization of Parents for Blind Children. Discover how simple design choices can open up new opportunities for people with disabilities in classrooms and on campus. Experience engaging presenters, micro-trainings, assistive technology tools, and experts—all designed to help you see the world through a new lens. Whether you’re a student, faculty member, tech user, or content creator, this event will equip you with practical skills and powerful insights to make your digital work more accessible for everyone.

Event Details

Thursday, October 9, 2025

10 a.m. - 2 p.m. MUC Ballroom 225C and East Lounge 227

Agenda:

10 a.m. Introduction

10:15 a.m. Keynote Speaker: Laura Bostick, Ed.D.

11 a.m. USD's Digital Accessibility Plan

11:30 a.m. Student Disability Panel

12 p.m. Lunch

12:20 p.m. Assistive Technology Talk

12:45 p.m. Office of Accessibility Overview

1:10 PDF Remediation

1:35 p.m. Accessibility for Excel

Keynote Speaker: Laura Bostick, Ed.D.

Laura Bostick, EdD, started her career as a biomedical engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. For over 17 years, she staffed the Mission Control Center during Space Shuttle flights, trained astronauts and cosmonauts, and designed, built, and certified medical and life sciences hardware which flew on the Space Shuttle, the Russian Mir Space Station, and the International Space Station. Laura’s interest in changing careers was sparked by the need to help her daughter, who was born blind, navigate her way through the educational system, leading her to complete a master’s degree in special education, a graduate certificate in visual impairments, and a doctorate in educational leadership, along with teaching certifications in K-12 special education and visual impairments. She worked at Louisiana Tech University from 2011-2024, teaching special education courses as an Associate Professor in the teacher preparation program in the College of Education, serving as the associate director of the UTeachTech program in which STEM majors gain certification to teach high school math and science courses, and working with CYBER.ORG, a nonprofit cyber education company, to teach coding and robotics to blind and low vision students across the country. After moving to South Dakota for her husband’s job in 2024, Laura began working remotely for a contractor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. She currently serves as a human spaceflight standards integrator.

Event Collaborators

• Student Access Organization
• DakotaLink
• SD Vocational Rehabilitation
• USD Department of Physical & Occupational Therapy
• USD Testing Center
• Office of Multicultural Affairs
• Opportunity Center