Maurer spreads good will with hearing lab ".,.,.....0._ One man's quiel efforts can do more to promote intemationaJ friendship than governments' grand gestures. The glory may be a long time In coming, or it may never come al all. But lha1's nol why people like James Maurer, speech communications professor al PSU, do whalthey do. Over a period of ten years, Maurer equipped, Iransported and assembled a hearing lesling laboralory for Ihe School for the Deaf In Guadelupe, Cosla Rica, the only lab of lis kind In Central America. He did II virtually alone and wilh nexllo no fanfare. But In March, Maurer finally received a commendalion from Oregon Goyemor VIC Atiyeh during a ceremony held al the Stale Capitot. Admittedly, Costa Rica and the Un~ed Stales already enjOyed a very friendly relationship when Maurer decided 10 give Ihe Central American democracy his little gift. But thai good will has been cemented in some very personal ways, particularly among the great numbers of hearing impalrad people who will benefit from the diagnostic center. Maurer first visited Costa Rica In 1973 as part of an Oregon·Cosla Rica Partners envoy 10 evaluate ",,,ont programs for deal and cleft palate chUdren. He discovered a high incidence of hearing loss caused by lhe Irad~ problems of ear Infections and ttopIcaJ parasites as wall as increased urban and Industria) noise. '"The noise in the city i. horrendous oornpared 10 POI1!and," noled Maurer, adding IIlat the use of ear prolection had nol kepi paoe with the rapid Induslrializalion of lhe traditionally agrarian nation. And yet there was not an audiologist or a hearing lab in the _ oountry and people were James Maurerexamlnes the ears of8 Costa Rican girl on one of his many trips to the Central American nation. actually Iraveling 10 Oregon for treatment. "This is absurd," Maurer said to himseff. "Let's build something down there." Nine years laler the nation has a 250-squara fool lab with two aooustic chambers providing diagnostic lesting of hearing and balance disorders as well as evaluation of hearing aids. The Costa Rican audiometrist who staffs the lab, Jose Sarochez, may come 10 POI1!and Siale 10 work on a masters in speech and healing sciences, if Maurer Is successful in finding funds. 8y this time. Maurer is Quite adept al fundraising. Working without financial backing mosl Of the lime, he had to beat the bushes for donations from industry and foundations, evenlually acquiring $60,000 worth of equfpment for 57·BOO. But lhe most diffocutt part was transporting the massive equlprnenllo Guadalupe. Even First Lady Rosalyn Carter, whom Maurer mel In Costa Rica, wasn't able to use her innuence to budge a 4-lon aoouslic chamber. So Maurer resorted to "friendly persuasion." All n tool< was the help of a colleague from Kansas, Dr. AI Knox, and two cases of Coors beer to convince an Air Force Reserve unit that it was In their Interest to stow the chamber. Maurer personally carried aboul 200 pounds of lab equipment hlmseff. On one trip, he was delayed 2'" hours in Mexico while aul_ analyzed his small bags of wh~ ear Impnession powder. Fast thinking got Maurer out of at least one scrape. Wheo his airplane landed In EI Salvador on a strip lined with tanI<s, and efght armed soldier. boanded, Maurer was disheartened by the leader's choioe of seats. "He sal down beside me, sel his gun down between his legs, and asked me, 'Es usted para Is revofucion 0 contra?' (Are you for or against the revolution?)" NOI knowing the gunman's allegiance. Maurer wisely answered, 'Yo soy para uSled' (I'm for you). His new friend clapped him on the bad< and ordered "'_ cervezas," two beers. Now thai the lab Is In place and operational, Maurer is continuing to dO reseanoh In Cosla Rica He is Investigating In the small village of Taras a hereditary inner ear oond~ lhet Is characterized by normal hearing al birth and profound deafness by eariy adullhood. One of Maurer's graduate students has written a thesis on the disorder caused by Ihe marriage of firsl cousins In the last century, and a Costa Rican microbiologist is attempting to isolate the mutant gene In~emlca. Maurer also finds time 10 leach graduate audtology courses In PSU's Speech and hearing Scienoas Program. At PSU since 1966, Maurer was instrumental In getting a grant 10 build a mobile lesling unit, which travels under the name Project ARM (Auditory Rehabilnation MobIle) 10 senter centers, state fairs and industrial sHes In Oregon 10 administer hearing tests. It is almost with glee thai Maurer says n's time 10 find another granl 10 rebuild Ihe terryear old unit. "Perhaps we need 8 whole fleet," muses Maurer. "After all, hearing loss Is an inlemational problem." Summer Session has international profile with 16 visiting profs Where else would a Freroch professor leach Polynesian Culture and a Hungarian scholar decipher cuneiform? Summer Session at Portland Stale has always been an International experience, but with sixteen visiting professors teaching more than two dozen courses, the program has outdone itsaIf this year. Here are a few examptes Of the talenl coming from all aorners of the world: Serge Dunlo, a professor of worfd ",lture and civIIltation althe Centre UnIve~ire d'Avignon In Fraroce, did his doctorat dissertation on the sodaI organization of the Maoris of New Zealand. He will be teaching PolynesIan Cu~ure and the Selllemeni of the Pacific. as well as oourses In French aJtture. 14 Geza Komoroczy. head of the Department of Assyriofogy at Etovos Lorand University In Budapes~ Hungary, retums 10 Summer Session to teach courses In Ancient Greece, AncIenl Middle Easl and cuneilorm writing. Heung100 Park. professor of socfology In the Departmenl of Mass Communication al Yonsel University In Korea, has consulted for a number of Korean family planning groups and has been a delegale 10 marry U.N. confereroces. Park, who earned his MA from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii, will teach Sex Roles in Asian SocIeties and Family Planning. Irene de Sou ... professor of english merature and language at the F_ral Unlversldade de Minas GeraIs in Brazil, folloWs In the foolsteps of three others from her university who laught in previous Summer Sessions. She will leach Brazil Today and oourses In Portuguese. Also InVOlved In 1983 Summer Session are two Fulbright scholars who laughl al PSU during the 1982-83 year: Vjera Balon-Heidi, from Yugoslavia, will leach Folklore 01 Yugoslavia and Croale-Serbian Language, and loan Cop,osu, from Romania. wilt teach a course in Dracula. There are plenty of other experieroces to be had al Summer Session, with its offering of over 500 oourses In 50 departments. The calalog is a refreshing blend of one-time only ctasses and old standbys presenled In a new way. "Summer Session Is aimed at bringing In outsfders, alumni and people Just wanting to lake ooursesnot only continuing spring term students," said director Charies White. Some of the appeal in Summer session, says White, lies in the comparatively low tuilion, the absence of admissions requirements and the Hexible schedule which enables students to plan their stud... around vacation or other oommitments. With a class stalling nearly every day during the session and Independent registration, Summer Session Is convenient for just about everyone. For a calalog and registration forms, call the Summer Session office al 229-4081. Preregistration ends June 3.
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