About
History
Training courses for teachers of children (at that time termed “handicapped”) occurred at Eastern (then Michigan State Normal College) in 1915. Programs for children with disabilities began on campus in 1925. Later in 1938 the Rackham School of Special Education, designed and equipped for training teachers and which included a residential facility for children with special needs, was built. It was the first of its kind west of the Alleghenies.
In the early 1950’s Dave Palmer was hired as Rackham’s first speech therapist. Wayne Fulton soon joined Palmer as the school’s first audiologist, hired for the Deaf Education program. The speech language pathology major was approved in 1958, and Bob Judge received the first Bachelor of Arts degree with the major of “Speech Correction” in 1960. The following year Thelma Albritton was hired. Shortly thereafter Albritton took a brief leave of absence to become the first Associate Secretary for School-Clinic Affairs of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the first editor of the inaugural issue of Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools.
Over the years the EMU speech-language pathology program has excelled as the:
- First in Michigan to require a master's degree;
- Only in Michigan to have the clinic approved under the State Mandatory Special Education Act;
- Only in Michigan to require dual certification/credentials for graduates (as both regular classroom teachers and speech therapists);
- First in Michigan to have dual ASHA accreditation: for both its graduate academic program through the CAA (around 1970) and for its clinic with Professional Services Board (PSB) accreditation.
The program has undergone numerous changes since its inception; however, its tradition of excellence continues. Currently the SLP program has eight full-time tenure-track faculty members and three and one half full time clinical supervisors.
Mission Statement (Adopted 9/29/2006)
The mission of the EMU Speech-Language Pathology program is to provide a full complement of exceptional clinical and academic experiences for students. These experiences will prepare students to provide clinical services that improve the life quality of those with communication disorders and those with whom they interact in a diverse and democratic society.
Please send comments about the strategic plan to the Program Coordinator, Sarah Ginsberg, at sginsberg@emich.edu. We welcome your feedback!
Last Updated on
July 23, 2010
