View of the Clinics wing (looking across the lawn from the back of Goggin Ice Center)
Artists' rendition view of the new Clinics wing (looking across the lawn from the back of Goggin Ice Center)
Susan Baker Brehm

Welcome from the Chair

Dear Friends and Alumni,
Greetings from Oxford! It is hard to believe that we are about to wrap up our fall semester. We are so pleased to share some highlights of the past year with all of you. We have certainly faced some challenges over the last year related to the pandemic, but our faculty have remained committed to delivering high-quality, creative classroom and clinical instruction for our students. It has been invigorating to see our students more fully back in person in our classrooms and clinics, and we continue to admire our students' adaptability and resiliency during this time. We also continue to be so appreciative of our clinical externship sites and how welcoming they have been to our students during this time.
The most exciting news we have to share is that the opening new Clinical Health Science Building is on schedule and will become our new home in the summer of 2023! This building will house our program, a new physician associate program, and nursing programs. The Student Health Center, Student Counseling, and Student Wellness will also be located in the new building. Check out this story about the Clinical Health Science Building for more information and renderings of the building.
Wishing you all of you a safe and healthy end to 2021.
Sincerely,
Susan Baker Brehm
Professor and Department Chair
Miami University Alumna, BS ’97, and MA ’99
bakerse1@MiamiOH.edu
Top SPA Stories
Dr. Arnold Olszewksi and Mia Anzilotti (BS ’22)
Dr. Arnold Olszewksi and Mia Anzilotti ’22
Mia Anzilotti, a senior majoring in SPA, was awarded a prestigious College of Arts & Science Dean’s Scholar Award for the 2021-2022 academic year. This award provides course credit and a research stipend to complete a research project and present it at a conference.
Mia’s project is titled Critically Evaluating Apps Used to Teach Phonological Awareness to Young Children, and it is being mentored by Dr. Olszewski.
Read more.
Statistics Instructor Michael Hughes and Dr. Amber Franklin consult with a group of SPA and STA graduate students
Statistics Instructor Michael Hughes and Dr. Amber Franklin consult with a group of SPA and STA graduate students
The focus and intensity of Miami’s graduate program in speech-language pathology means that students don’t have many opportunities to mix with graduate students in other academic programs.
However, for the past four years, the Evidence Based Practice (EBP) course, taught by Dr. Amber Franklin, has given speech-language pathology and statistics graduate students the opportunity to socialize and learn from each other during the annual Speech-Language Pathology/Statistics Mixer. 
Drs. Amber Franklin and Arnold Olszewski received funding from the Miami Center for Career Exploration and Success to host dialogues about race and racial disparities in healthcare for SPA undergraduates.
Fifteen students participated in a brief online course where they read about racial health disparities and how they related to communication sciences and disorders. This event was intended to promote cultural humility and responsiveness among our students by fostering conversations around sensitive topics.
Students
  • Hailey Kingsbury ’21 was selected as an alternate for a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Luxembourg. Hailey is currently pursuing an AuD at the University of Iowa.
  • Erin Cronin ’20 was selected as the 2020 Evans Scholar of the Year. Erin is currently pursuing her master’s in speech-language pathology and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Alumni
  • Suzanne Coyle '97, M.A. '99 was recently named the executive director of the Stroke Comeback Center located in Vienna, Virginia. Stroke Comeback Center is a nonprofit organization that provides affordable, ongoing support to stroke survivors and their families throughout their recoveries. Suzanne has been affiliated with the Stroke Comeback Center since 2008. She also was employed as a speech-language pathologist with MedStar National Rehabilitation Network in Washington, D.C. for 20 years.) 
  • Dr. Brittany Krekeler '13 was recently appointed as assistant professor of Clinical Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. Krekeler completed her M.S./Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a post-doctoral fellowship at Northwestern University in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Edward Hines Jr. Veteran’s Affairs Hospital in Hines, IL.
  • Natalie (Dalton) Gibbons M.A. '15 was recently promoted to speech-language pathologist supervisor at Dayton Children's Hospital. Natalie has been affiliated with Dayton Children's Hospital since 2015 and specializes in auditory processing disorders and childhood apraxia of speech.
  • Maria (Wellman) Wyler ’06, M.S. ‘08 recently joined the Reading and Literacy Discovery Center Team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
The following students presented their master’s theses or evidence-based practice projects at the 2021 recent American Speech Language Hearing Convention:
  • Allison Crittenden '19, M.A. ’21; Faculty Mentor - Dr. Kelly Knollman-Porter
  • Rachel Hood ’19, M.A. ’21; Faculty Mentor - Dr. Arnold Olszewski
  • Nicole Isroff M.S. ‘21; Faculty Mentors - Dr. Arnold Olszewski, Dr. Amber Franklin
  • Kaitlyn Koewler M.S. ‘21; Faculty Mentors - Dr. Arnold Olszewski, Dr. Amber Franklin
  • Karly Landis ’19, M.S. ‘21; Faculty Mentors - Dr. Arnold Olszewski, Dr. Amber Franklin
  • Jordana Luther '23; Faculty Mentor – Dr. Trace Poll
  • Alanna Martin '21; Faculty Mentor – Dr. Trace Poll
  • Maddie Mayes '20; Faculty Mentor – Dr. Trace Poll
  • Emily Mitchell '22; Faculty Mentor – Dr. Trace Poll
  • Thimberley Morgan M.S. ‘21; Faculty Mentors - Dr. Arnold Olszewski, Dr. Amber Franklin
  • Meghan Noonan M.A. ’21; Faculty Mentor – Dr. Arnold Olszewski
  • Macie Petrich M.A. ‘20; Faculty Mentors – Dr. Susan Baker Brehm, Dr. Renee Gottliebson
  • Annika Shaffer ’19, M.A. ‘21; Faculty Mentors - Dr. Arnold Olszewski, Dr. Amber Franklin
  • Emily Struble ’19, M.A. ’21; Faculty Mentor – Dr. Kelly Knollman-Porter
  • Rachel Topper M.A. ’21; Faculty Mentor - Dr. Kelly Knollman-Porter
  • Lauren Wiesman '21; Faculty Mentor – Dr. Trace Poll
2021 Voice Foundation Symposium:
  • Jacquelyn Jarachovic M.A. ’20; Faculty Mentor – Dr. Susan Brehm, Dr. Renee Gottliebson
2021 ASHA Schools Connect Conference:
  • Erika Smith ’19, M.A. ’21; Faculty Mentor - Dr. AJ Olszewski
Faculty
  • The Ray of Light Award was presented to Associate Professor Dr. Amber Franklin, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, at the Diversity and Inclusion Awards Ceremony in July 2021. Dr. Franklin was one of four Miami recipients recognized as members of the Miami University community who demonstrated, advanced, or promoted activities, programs and actions that have supported campus efforts to help enrich the experiences for faculty, staff, and students at Miami.
  • The 2021 Associated Student Government (ASG) Outstanding Professor Award nominees included Associate Professors Dr. Amber Franklin and Dr. Aaron Shield, who were also Top 12 finalists. Nominees for this award were selected by graduating seniors who recognize each nominee as an important part of their Miami experience.
  • The Student Recognition of Teaching Excellence Award was presented to Associate Professor Dr. Aaron Shield, Ph.D., in December 2020 for creativity and innovation in teaching for Fall 2020. The Office of the Provost collaborated with three student government organizations (Associated Student Government, Regional Student Government, and the Graduate Student Association) to identify and honor those instructors who worked to create positive, engaging, and creative learning opportunities and advising experiences for students during remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Megan Gross and students (From left to right: Kaleigh Hollyday (BS ’21), Samantha Burns, Megan Gross, Maddie Murray, Erin Welsh (BS ’20), Hannah Sproat (BS ’20)
Megan Gross and students (From left to right: Kaleigh
Hollyday ’21, Samantha Burns, Megan Gross, Maddie
Murray, Erin Welsh ’20, Hannah Sproat ’20
  • The E. Phillips Knox Distinguished Teaching Award was granted to Associate Clinical Faculty Megan Gross, M.S., NIC. Established by Miami alumnus E. Phillips Knox '68, the award recognizes creative, innovative, and engaging teaching methods at the undergraduate level. This award is conferred upon faculty members whose achievements unequivocally merit the recognition for excellence in teaching. 
  • Associate Professor Dr. Kelly Knollman-Porter was awarded the Miami University Robert H. and Nancy J. Blayney three-year endowed professorship for outstanding performance during her probationary period as a tenure-track faculty member.
Department of Speech Pathology & Audiology
2 Bachelor Hall • 
Oxford, OH 45056 
513-529-2500 • spa@MiamiOH.edu
Copyright © 2021 Miami University.
The Department of Speech Pathology & Audiology offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Students become active participants in the on-site Miami University Speech & Hearing Clinic, where they learn clinical methods, observe speech and language evaluations, and eventually plan and implement therapy sessions.
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