In the fall of 1995 a team of four faculty members in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts received a grant from a national program, the Universal Design Education Project (UDEP), funding curriculum development projects which promote the value of universal design . The team proposed several activities which would help faculty introduce students to the principles of universal design. While the primary goal of the grant is to infuse universal design principles into classroom and studio teaching, the proposal also included a weekend long event that would bring to the universal design concept both school-wide visibility and critical discourse. The Universal Design Education Project (UDEP) proposal was one of eight such projects from across the country funded for $3000.

The project has two major components: a curriculum enhancement package and a weekend workshop to bring students and faculty in AAA together to discuss and engage the issue of inclusive and universal design.