I have a love affair with CU! I arrived in Boulder as a green (beanied) freshman in 1956. After a few changes of major, it was clear that I was on the popular five-year Arts plan. Finally, I decided on Speech Education, planning to teach in high school. But in order to be somewhat prepared if any speech disordered students took my classes, I thought it would be important to take a few courses in communication disorders. I really branched out by taking two audiology classes to start my senior year. Within two weeks I had found my future!
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in speech education from CU in 1961, I attended Northwestern University, where I earned a master’s degree in clinical audiology. Luckily, CU needed an audiologist that year, so I returned as an instructor in 1962. I was told I could stay for up to three years without a doctoral degree, so I prepared myself to leave after the three years to become a clinical audiologist. But…no, I liked the academic life so much that I returned to Northwestern to earn a Ph.D. degree in 1968. Once again I returned to CU, with tenure and title of professor coming in the mid-70s. I taught a lot of courses and supervised many students in HEC (Hearing Evaluation Clinic), and I served as Chair of the Department in three stints for a total of nearly 11 years. My major achievement as a professor was to introduce audiology to several generations of students and even to turn some students on to the profession. My major achievements as chair were to be involved in enrolling strong graduate students and in hiring outstanding faculty members whose numbers eventually grew from a graduate student body of two and a faculty of five to the vibrant, conscientious, and caring group now in place. My major contribution in research came in directing Kenneth Aspinall’s Ph.D. dissertation, which demonstrated that the concept of phonemic balance seems not to be a critical aspect in the assessment of speech discrimination. In addition to the above activities, from 1996 to 2006 I served as Director of Scholarships for the College of Arts and Sciences. By the year 2000, however, I had hung up most of my professional robes.
Apart from membership on a university committee, occasional attendance at lectures and auditing classes, season football tickets (45 yard line!) and attendance at some men’s and women’s basketball games, I have no active ties to the academic home I love: UCB, particularly the SLHS department. However, you may see me on campus as I stop by to pick up mail, to attend some event, and/or to reminisce with old friends and to meet new ones.