Norman D. Gardner, Ph.D.
Braille Resource & Literacy Center and UVSC
“Expanding Literacy Horizons For Blind Children In Mexico”

Biography:

Norman Gardner received his undergraduate degree in Spanish and his MBA degree at BYU. In 1974, he received his Ph.D. degree in Finance at the University of Utah. Dr. Gardner has taught Finance, first, at Boise State University, and then, at Utah Valley State College since 1974. Blind since birth, Dr. Gardner has served in various local, state, and national positions in the National Federation of the Blind- a membership organization of blind people dedicated to helping blind people become self-reliant, successful citizens of society. In 1996, Dr. Gardner helped form the Braille Resource & Literacy Center (BRL Center), a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of literacy among blind people, by making Braille more readily available. The BRL Center pioneered the availability of a wide variety of children's storybooks in alphabetic (uncontracted) Braille.

In 1999, Dr. Gardner was invited to speak at the International Conference on Disabilities, held in Villahermosa, Mexico. At that time, he became acquainted with the founder of a school for blind children in that city. Since then, Dr. Gardner has made repeated trips to this school for the blind in Mexico, providing philosophical direction to the school, and much needed equipment and supplies for it's programs. In 2001, the BRL Center obtained a grant from the LDS Charities Humanitarian Organization for the purpose of equipping a computerized Braille production facility at the school. In June of 2001, Dr. Gardner and Dr. Gygi headed up a team of 6 volunteers who traveled to this school for the blind in Mexico to install the computerized Braille production equipment and to train school personnel in it's use. Prior to that time, few blind students at the school had meaningful access to materials in Braille, because materials had to be produced by hand, in a tedious, time-consuming process. Using the new computerized equipment staff at the school have produced hundreds of Braille textbooks and other educational materials in Braille for their blind students. This has expanded the opportunity for meaningful literacy, for these blind students. The BRL Center is currently planning an expansion of this Braille production project to include other schools for the blind in Mexico.