[Blindvet-talk] Fwd: FW: FSU's O&M Program

[MisterAdvocate at aol.com]

____________________________________
 From: Phyllis.Dill at dbs.fldoe.org
To: ab4zq at juno.com, Yesunited2 at msn.com,  RehabMgr at tampalighthouse.org, 
BrokerBruc at aol.com, hullted at verizon.net,  jnaiman at bellsouth.net, 
lammj at mail.okaloosa.k12.fl.us, jodinkeith at cox.net,  brianj at advocacycenter.org, 
kdavisnfbf at cfl.rr.com, robert at conklincenter.org,  sckiser55 at earthlink.net, pedwards at mdc.edu, 
edwpaul at bellsouth.net,  pkaminsky at bellsouth.net, rufbrown19 at verizon.net, 
dawn.saunders at fldoe.org,  misteradvocate at aol.com, Town111 at bellsouth.net
CC:  Joyce.Hildreth at dbs.fldoe.org
Sent: 1/29/2009 1:17:47 P.M. Eastern Standard  Time
Subj: FW: FSU's O&M Program


FYI  Refer to the following e-mail Joyce  received from Sandy Lewis.


 
____________________________________
 From: Sandra Lewis  [mailto:lewis at mail.coe.fsu.edu] 
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 7:55  AM
To: Hildreth, Joyce
Subject: FSU's O&M  Program




Dear  Joyce, 
The Visual Disabilities  Program at FSU was officially informed today that 
the funding for the O&M  position will not be renewed by the College of 
Education after April because  of the budget cuts facing the state.  Unless something 
happens to change the Dean’s mind (or  we get an infusion of $80,000), we will 
no longer be preparing O&M  specialists who can teach Florida’s children and 
adults with visual  impairments how to travel (and will be returning 
approximately $300,000 in RSA  and OSEP grant money).  This position  was easy to 
eliminate, since it is held by someone who is not on a tenure  track line.  While 
expedient because of the dire state of the budget, the  history of such 
programs is that once they are abolished, they are not  refunded.    
The O&M Program at FSU has  run continuously since 1966.  Summaries of 
national data reveal that FSU  has produced approximately 9% of all of the nation’s 
O&M  specialists  over the past 10 years.  This program is important to the 
state’s  citizens—children and adults—who are bind.  The O&M specialization is  
important to the overall well-being of the  Visual Disabilities program;  
without it, our student numbers , especially our graduate student numbers,  will 
no doubt drop, putting the entire program at risk.    
If there is anything that you  or DBS can do to help advocate for the 
continuation of this position, I would  be most grateful for the support.   
Best, 
Sandy 

please  note new e-mail address as of February 1st below:    

Sandra  Lewis, Ed.D. 
Associate Professor and  Coordinator 
Program in Visual  Impairment 
Florida State  University 
205  Stone Building 
Tallahassee, Florida    32306-4459 
850-644-8409 
850-644-8715 (fax) 
slewis at fsu.edu 


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