On behalf of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences (SPHSC), I am delighted to welcome you to this newsletter, with a new academic year underway and a new departmental website to accompany it. As I enter my second year as Department Chair, I am honored to serve in this role and excited to continue working with faculty, staff, and students across the Department as we navigate the challenges and opportunities of today’s world.
SPHSC’s strong legacy is rooted in its vibrant community of clinicians, scholars, educators, students, and leaders. That leadership legacy includes our immediate past Chair, Dr. Adrian KC Lee, who brought social justice to the forefront within Eagleson Hall and across the realm of communication sciences and disorders. During his five-year term, he created spaces for voices to be heard and enacted systemic shifts at a time when resilience was paramount. This year, Dr. Lee meets the next challenge as a Fellow of the UW Provost’s Academy, working with Vice Provost Noah Smith and focusing on the role of AI in higher education.
SPHSC is committed to improving the lives of people with communication challenges across the life span and to advancing the scientific understanding of human communication. We pursue this mission through research; academic programs that foster critical thinking and innovation among future clinicians, researchers, and leaders; and clinical services provided through our in-house UW Speech and Hearing Clinic and beyond. We are proud of our national reputation for outstanding graduate education and of our contributions to the scientific evidence base that is the foundation of the field.
This newsletter celebrates SPHSC students, alumni, staff, and faculty. As you read on, you will learn how the UW Speech and Hearing Clinic welcomed Dr. Shanece Washington as its clinical audiologist and Director of Audiology this past spring. You will also read about graduate students in the SLP master’s program who launched a program to support NICU families. Articles published just last year highlight faculty and alumni who are shaping the future of health and education through their research and professional achievements.
We often rely on metrics to quantify impact, such as grant dollars, publications, and the number of patients served. But what we accomplish together is also defined by how we value and support one another and those we serve. SPHSC invests in people’s humanity—not only in their roles as learners, interventionists, and scientists, but also as individuals. Person-centered perspectives guide how we work within the SPHSC community—as students, alumni, staff, and faculty—as we strive to increase access to communication for all. Communication and connection are at the heart of the human experience and central to SPHSC’s work.
SPHSC remains grounded in its mission and bolstered by the support of our community. Feel free to reach out to me anytime, including if you’re planning a visit to campus. We thank you and look forward to staying connected!
With gratitude,
Sara Kover
Professor and Chair