Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences

College of Fine Arts and Communication

Gruber Seminar Series

The Gruber Seminar Series is named in honor of Lamar University faculty member Dr. Frederick A. Gruber of the Department of Communication Disorders and Deaf Studies, now the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences.

Dr. Gruber earned a Ph.D. in communicative disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997 and taught at Lamar only a short time before his death in 1999. Though his tenure at LU was brief, his dedicated work in the field of communication disorders is carried on through the series that bears his name.

Recent Seminars

  • Black Language Matters: Child African American English, Assessment and Intervention
    Presenter: Brandi L. Newkirk-Turner, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an associate professor and chairperson in the Department of Communicative Disorders at Jackson State University. Her research examines multicultural issues that are relevant to speech-language assessment of African American English (AAE) speakers and best practices in preparing graduate students to serve culturally and linguistically diverse populations. She directs the Language and Literacy in Diverse Children Lab and is currently working on NSF-funded projects that examine variation and the grammar of child AAE. She is a recipient of the ASHA Certificate of Recognition for Special Contributions in Multicultural Affairs.
  • The Dos and Don’ts of Bilingual Aphasia: A Guide for SLPs
    Presenter: Maria L. Muñoz, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is professor at the University of Redlands. She received her doctorate from the University of Texas in Austin as a participant in the Multicultural Leadership Training Program. She conducts research, teaches and publishes in the areas of treatment of aphasia in Spanish/English bilinguals and multicultural issues in communication sciences and disorders.
  • Person-Centered Strategies for Cognitive-Communication Disorders of Dementia
    Presenter: Natalie Douglas, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an associate professor at Central Michigan University and lead collaborator at Practical Implementation Collaborative. She aims to advance best practices in communication and quality-of-life interventions for people with dementia, aphasia and other communication disorders. She works to empower healthcare teams through implementation science and practice.

2019 Seminars

  • Building the Capacity for Conversation in Young Children With ASD
    Presenter: Patrick J. Rydell, founder of the Rocky Mountain Autism Center, Inc. and Autism On Call, LLC. Co-author of the SCERTS Model (Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, Laurent & Rydell, 2006) and author of the Learning Style Profile for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Rydell, 2012).
    Date: May 10
  • Cleft Lip and Palate - Speech and Voice Intervention
    Presenter: Kim Loan Lu, CCC-SLP, Memorial Hermann Hospital
    Date: April 5
  • Laryngeal Speech in Laryngectomees
    Presenter: Jodi Knott, CCC-SLP, MD Anderson Cancer Center
    Date: April 5

2018 Seminars

  • Mechanisms of Tinnitus and its Audiologic Management
    Presenter: Marc A. Fagelson, professor of audiology, East Tennessee State University, Tennessee, USA
    Date: April 2
  • Treatment of Vocal Hyperfunction with Flow Phonation
    Presenter: Balaji Rangarathnam, assistant professor, Voice and Swallowing Research Lab, East Carolina University
    Date: April 16
  • Cleft-Related Speech and Resonance
    Presenter: Kim-Loan Luu, speech language pathologist, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Texas Cleft and Craniofacial Team
    Date: April 20
  • Alaryngeal Speech: Laryngectomy
    Presenter: Jodi Knott, clinical coordinator of speech pathology and audiology, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
    Date: April 20
  • Pediatric Swallowing & Feeding: Simple to Complex, Let's Figure It Out
    Presenter: Joan Arvedson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, B-NCD, BRS-S, ASHA fellow, is a program coordinator of Feeding Services at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
    Date: June 8

Previous Seminars

  • Evidence‐based Assessment and Treatment for Neurogenic Dysphagia and Vocal Hyperfunction
    Presenter: Balaji Rangarathnam, Ph.D., CCC‐SLP
    Assistant professor, Voice and Swallowing Research Lab, East Carolina University
  • Otoacoustic Emissions: Probing the Inner Ear
    Presenter: PSumitrajit (Sumit) Dhar, Ph.D.
    Professor and chair, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, United States
  • Cognitive Auditory Evoked Potentials: Advances and Insights in Neuroaudiology
    Presenter: David Tome, Ph.D.
    Professor, Department of Audiology, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal
  • Tinnitus and the Internet
    Presenter: Gerhard Andersson
    Professor, Linkoping University, Sweden
  • The Sky is Rising: How Hearables Can Be Integrated Into Patient-centric Care
    Presenter: Brian Taylor, Au.D.
    Senior director clinical affairs, Turtle Beach Corporation, San Diego, California
  • Outcome Measures in Hearing Aid Assessment: Why Bother?
    Presenter: Ruth Bentler, Ph.D.
    Professor and department executive officer, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City
  • Harmonic Spectral Changes and Speech Intelligibility Before and After Voice Treatment in Parkinson’s Disease
    Presenter: Michael P. Cannito, Ph.D.
    Hawthorne/BORSF Distinguished Professor, Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana
  • Scientific Truth in Audiology: The Process
    Presenter: Ross J. Roeser, Ph.D.
    Professor, Callier Center Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas
  • Cleft‐Related Speech and Resonance
    Presenter: Kim-Loan Luu, M.A., CCC/SLP
    Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, University of Texas–Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas
  • Global Perspectives on Aging, Communication Disorders, and Access to Care in Underserved Regions of the World
    Presenter: Brooke Hallowell, Ph.D.
    Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ohio University, Ohio
  • Issues in Cognition, Audiology and Amplification
    Presenter: Douglas Beck, Au.D.
    Director of Professional Relations, Otiocon Inc., USA
  • The Challenges to Interdisciplinary Health Research
    Presenter: Berth Danermark, Ph.D.
    Professor of sociology, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Orebro University, Orebro, Sweden
  • Do I need a Hearing Aid? Outcomes of Group Audiologic Rehabilitation for Unaided Adults With Hearing Impairment and Their Significant Others
    Presenter: Rebecca Kelly-Campbell, Ph.D.
    Department of Communication Disorders, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
  • Advanced Signal Processing Features in Hearing Aids: Why Some Do Not Work as Well as Others
    Presenter: Ayasakanta Rout, Ph.D.
    Director of audiology, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, James Madison University, Virginia
  • Talk 1: Falls, Presbyequilibrium and Quality of Life Among Older Adults Residing in an Institutional Setting and Efficacy of Guided and Self-Training
    Talk 2: Individual Susceptibility to Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
    Presenter: Prof. Ilmari Pyykko
    Department of Otolaryngology, Hearing and Balance Research Unit, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
  • Talk 1: Applications of Wide-Band Reflectance in Diagnosis of Middle Ear Disorders
    Talk 2: Audiology in China
    Presenter: Fei Zhao, MD, Ph.D.
    Centre for Speech Language Therapy and Hearing, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK
  • Talk 1: Attitude Towards Loss of Hearing in Individuals With Unilateral Hearing Loss
    Talk 2: Audiology in Singapore
    Presenter: Naresh Durisala (Au.D.)
    Audiology Clinic, ENT Department, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore