USU Assistive Technology Director Named to National Board
Utah State University's Sachin Pavithran, program director for the Utah Assistive Technology Program at USU, was recently named to the Association of University Centers on Disability’s board of directors.
Sachin Pavithran, program director for the Utah Assistive Technology Program at Utah State University, was recently named to the Association of University Centers on Disability’s board of directors.
The AUCD is a nation-wide network of interdisciplinary centers. The Center for Persons with Disabilities at USU is a network member, and the assistive technology program headed by Pavithran is part of the CPD. All three organizations are dedicated to serving people with disabilities, their families and communities.
“My vision is for AUCD to broaden its scope and reach in policy and practice of inclusion within its network,” Pavithran said.
He plans to do this by encouraging an open dialog on matters of diversity, recruiting people from diverse ethnic and LGBTQ backgrounds, and getting commitments from network partners to make inclusion a priority.
Pavithran was born in India and raised in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates before he came to the United States at the age of 17 to pursue a higher education. He serves as an adviser to the executive director of the State Office of Rehabilitation, and he is on the Executive Management Team of the Utah Department of Workforce Services. On the national level, he is vice chair of the Assistive Technology Act Programs and was appointed by President Obama to the United States Access Board.
Internationally he has worked on assistive technology issues in The United Arab Emirates, India, Egypt, Syria, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and Mexico. (Assistive technology includes any device, high- or low-tech, that helps people with disabilities gain more independence.) Pavithran has also worked on the issues of equal access and disability policy in those countries.
“I am excited to serve on the AUCD Board,” Pavithran said. “I look forward to bringing my expertise to the table. We can engage in a dialog on helping to bring equality to all people with disabilities.”
The Center for Persons with Disabilities and the Utah Assistive Technology Program are both located at Utah State University.
Related links:
USU Center for Persons with Disabilities
Utah Assistive Technology Program
USU Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
Contact: Sachin Pavithran, 435-797-6572
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