AHEAD 2009 Global Access: Opening a World of Opportunity
AHEAD 2009 Global Access: Opening a World of Opportunity
The 32nd Conference of the Association on Higher Education And Disability
July 20 - 25, 2009
The Galt House
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Welcome to AHEAD 2009!
The city of Louisville is pleased to serve as your host for the 32nd annual International AHEAD conference. Your conference planners have been hard at work to assure a great experience for all. In keeping with the conference theme of “Global Access: Opening a World of Opportunity”, a wide variety of pre-conference, plenary and concurrent sessions are certain to prove interesting and informative.
And what would a conference be without networking and social opportunities? This year we’ve planned a number of events beginning with a welcome reception on Tuesday evening in the Grand Ballroom. Come enjoy lively music, good food, and numerous opportunities to network. Many of the SIG Chairs and Affiliate Representatives will be available to educate about their group and planned activities during the conference. This will also be a great time for mentors and mentees to meet one another!
The annual President’s Reception is scheduled for Wednesday evening, which also coincides with the Grand Opening of the Exhibit Hall. Before you peruse the many vendors available to you, take some time to relax with the sounds of Michael Tracy’s Jazz ensemble. A veritable “Ambassador of Jazz,” Tracy is one of America’s foremost jazz educators, with more than thirty-five years of performing and teaching experience.
We’ve planned a very special event for you on Thursday evening at the Muhammad Ali Center. The Ali Center’s innovative and immersive visitor experience, public and educational programming, and global initiatives carry on Muhammad’s legacy and continue his life’s work. Two-and-a-half levels of interactive exhibits and captivating multimedia presentations introduce Ali’s epic life through the six core values by which he lives: respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, and spirituality. Ultimately, the Ali Center strives to inspire you to pursue your potential and explore the greatness that lies within yourself. Exhibits will be open free of charge on Thursday evening, and a reception with food, beverage, and a live classical guitar ensemble will be available in the magnificent View Pointe Hall overlooking the Ohio River.
And, even though the thoroughbreds are not racing in July, your creative conference planners will find a way to bring the magic and excitement of the most exciting two minutes in sports that is the Kentucky Derby to the conference! All of these amenities are provided with no increase over last year’s registration fees!
Your host city is well served by Louisville International Airport with over 100 affordable flights daily and is within a day’s drive of nearly half of the population of the United States! The Galt House Hotel and Suites is ideally situated in downtown Louisville, overlooking the 85 acre Waterfront Park and the majestic, mile wide Ohio River. Be sure to check out the hotel’s on-site restaurants and lounges, fabulous riverfront outdoor pool, Club 360 Fitness Center, complimentary wi-fi in guest rooms and extremely economical rates!
Within easy walking distance or a short accessible trolley ride from your hotel, you will find numerous restaurants, clubs, galleries, museums, cultural and entertainment options including Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Kentucky Center for the Arts, the Louisville Science Center and IMAX Theatre, the Frazier International History Museum, Louisville Slugger Museum, Fourth Street Live (Louisville’s premier dining and entertainment complex), and daily river excursions on the fabulous Belle of Louisville Steamboat.
Other Louisville attractions include tours of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum, visits to the American Printing House for the Blind (the largest printer of Braille material in the world), and horse-drawn carriage tours of Old Louisville providing a glimpse of the largest collection of Victorian homes in the United States. The more adventurous may consider a half-day excursion to some of the finest distilleries on the planet on Kentucky’s storied Bourbon Trail. Feeling less adventurous? Try the Urban Bourbon tour!
Be sure to visit http://gotolouisville.com and the Local Information table at conference for a host of ideas to prove that Louisville is one of the country’s best values. Your conference planners will be tempting you as the months go by with interesting tidbits of information that will hopefully whet your appetite to visit our fair city and partake of all that Louisville and your conference can provide.
Consider this your call to the post
Don't be left at the starting gate!