PASTTENSE Speech and Hearing gets its start in 1956 The Speech and Hearing Sciences Department has its roots in the Portland Extension Center, which first offered courses in speech-language pathology in 1956, and later in audiology. The early leaders of the Speech and Hearing Sciences Program were Robert English, director; Robert Casteel, clinic director; and James Maurer, head of audiology. Casteel began teaching courses for the center in 1956, followed by English in 1958, Edward Stone in 1964, and Maurer in 1964. In 1956, a deal was worked out with Herold Lillywhite, of Crippled Children’s Division (CCD, now Child Development and Rehabilitation Center), which was affiliated with the University of Oregon medical school (now Oregon Health & Science University). The speech and hearing clinics were run at CCD during the nine-month academic year and later (circa 1964) in the summers in Shattuck Hall at Portland State College (PSC). Robert English founded the PSC Speech and Hearing Sciences Program in fall 1964. English received a Personnel Preparation federal grant to hire Casteel. At the time, English was finishing his doctorate at the University of Oregon and Casteel was just beginning his doctoral work. The program was under the auspices of the Department of Speech at PSC, which was then chaired by Frank Gibson. The department was housed in the basement of Neuberger Hall, which was only half built. Early growth of the program came about largely because of federal grant funding through the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped. During that time, the program had the first of its site visitations for the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) accreditation, which has been maintained continuously since then. Portland State’s was the only accredited program (out of five programs) in Oregon for 30 years. The program became a department in 2005. —Mary Brannan Past Tense features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. Robert English
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz