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Left:
Bill and Claudia Coleman grace the cover of the University
of Colorado Foundation 2000/2001 Annual Report
with Elizabeth Hoffman, President of the University of Colorado.
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Bill
and Claudia Coleman originally became interested in cognitive disability and
technology from their relationship with their niece. In the mid 1980's they
saw her learning skills, focus, and dexterity improve dramatically through the
use of a computer. Their vision to improve the quality of life for people with
cognitive disabilities grew over time. In the fall of 1999, while Bill was a
guest lecturer at a CU freshman computer science class, he spoke of his philanthropic
goals. Over the next year, he and Claudia formed a partnership with CU, ultimately
resulting in the creation of the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities.
Through an endowment, the Colemans created the Coleman-Turner Chair in Cognitive
Disability and by August, 2001, David Braddock arrived to hold that chair in
the CU College of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry, become the Executive
Director of the Institute and the Associate Vice President for Research of the
University of Colorado System.
The Coleman Institute
for Cognitive Disabilities was created in part through venture philanthropy
to foster interdisciplinary research collaborations throughout the four-campus
University of Colorado System and to strengthen the collective voice of people
with cognitive disabilities in American society.