CSD summer 2016 featured faculty
Tausha Beardsley, M.A., CCC-SLP
As a clinical instructor, Tausha Beardsley teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in speech-language pathology with emphasis in acquired neurogenic communication disorders, the clinical process, and swallowing disorders. She also provides clinical education and supervision to graduate clinicians in clinical practicum. Students have voted her "Outstanding Supervisor of the Year" in two recent years. She has provided extensive service to the department, and also currently serves on the Faculty Council for the WSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS).
After earning a bachelor of arts degree in audiology and speech sciences from Michigan State University, Ms. Beardsley completed a Master of Arts degree in speech-language pathology from The University of Memphis. She is ASHA certified and licensed to practice speech-language pathology in the state of Michigan. Her training includes a specialized clinical fellowship in Medical speech-language pathology through Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where subsequently she worked as a staff SLP and coordinator for in-patient speech-language pathology services. She has also worked extensively in a variety of clinical settings, including school-based services, outpatient and rehabilitation therapy, long term acute care facilities, extended care facilities, home care, and private practice.
Maryellen Liening, M.A., CCC-SLP
Maryellen Liening began teaching at WSU in 2009 as a clinical instructor. Since then she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in voice disorders, craniofacial disorders, anatomy and physiology of speech and language, language and phonological disorders, and writing-intensive clinical practice in speech-language pathology. She has provided clinical supervision of SLP graduate student clinicians in the Head Start, PLAY, STEPSS, and out-patient programs, as well as through the Craniofacial Clinic at Children's Hospital of Michigan. She is a Detroit native and WSU alumna and has worked in Detroit for over 30 years.
As a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist with specialized knowledge in cleft palate, Ms. Liening has given several presentations to interns in the departments of Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, and Orthodontia at Children's Hospital of Michigan and Henry Ford Health Care System. She has presented at annual conferences for the Michigan Cleft Palate Association. Also, she has supervised CSD student research projects.
Ms. Liening has had numerous service assignments and is the CSD continuing education unit (CEU) administrator. When asked about her job, she noted: "Observing the students grow from undergraduate students to students in the clinic, and eventually clinicians in the field are very rewarding. Being a part of this program at WSU is a great experience."
Aaron Hardy-Smith, M.A., CCC-SLP
Aaron Hardy-Smith joined our faculty as a Lecturer in 2010, providing expertise in speech and language impairments in preschool and school-age children. She also has special interests in autism and working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations. She teaches undergraduate courses in child language and phonological disorders and clinical methods. She also provides clinical education to our graduate students in speech-language pathology. Prior to working at WSU, Mrs. Hardy-Smith worked as a school speech-language pathologist (K-12) for Calhoun ISD, Allen Park Public Schools, as well as in several charter schools in Detroit. She earned her B.S. and M.A. degrees in speech-language pathology from Western Michigan University.
As chair of the CSD Assessment Committee, Mrs. Hardy-Smith recently presented in a peer-to-peer forum focused on sharing good assessment practices with WSU colleagues. She was appointed to the Michigan Speech Hearing Foundation's Board of Directors in 2014 and selected by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association to review grants for the 2015 Multicultural Grant program.
Mrs. Hardy-Smith was awarded "Supervisor of the Year" in 2014 and 2016 by the graduating class of M.A. students in the department. In 2015, she was honored by the President and Provost of the University for contributing to undergraduate student success. She hopes to encourage each student that she teaches and supervises to serve their clients with integrity and compassion and to maintain their zeal for learning as professionals in their future careers.
Kimberly Stewart, M.A., CCC-SLP
Kimberly Stewart has worked as a Clinical Instructor in CSD since 2009. She is a speech-language pathologist with ASHA certification and Michigan licensure, and her prior professional experiences include pediatric and adult outpatient rehabilitation and acute care.
Ms. Stewart earned her bachelor's degree in interpersonal communication and Spanish from Western Michigan University. She is a WSU alumna, having completed the post-bachelor program and the CSD graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology. She teaches our undergraduate Clinical Methods course, and she is active on many department committees. After several years providing student advising in the CSD post-bachelor program, Ms. Stewart is now the department Admissions Officer.
Providing supervision to graduate student clinicians, Ms. Stewart is involved in one-on-one student training and group education through the Head Start, Outpatient, and PLAY programs. In collaboration with Mrs. Hardy-Smith, Ms. Stewart developed a new parent education program that has received high ratings from parents of children involved in the summer preschool language program. Ms. Stewart and Mrs. Hardy-Smith presented this program to other professionals at the annual state conference of the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2016.
Emmylou Garza-Prisby, M.A., CCC-SLP
Emmylou Garza-Prisby is a Lecturer who teaches the new graduate course "Special Topics in Speech-Language Pathology: Multicultural Issues." She also teaches Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice in the graduate SLP program. As a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist, she provides clinical supervision to graduate clinicians in the STEPSS and Outpatient programs. She was one of 12 WSU faculty to receive special recognition by the WSU President and Provost at a luncheon in 2015 for contributing to undergraduate student success.
Ms. Garza-Prisby also assists in research in the CSD Aphasia and Neurocognitive Disorders Lab. Ms. Garza-Prisby has expanded faculty-student engagement as the Faculty Advisor for the WSU chapter of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is an active member of the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MSHA), serving on the Executive Board as the Vice President-Elect of Professional Development/Education (2014, 2016) and Vice President (2015, 2017). She volunteered as the 2015 MSHA conference chair and will be the 2017 MSHA conference chair.
Audiology Clinic training: Partnership with Henry Ford Hospital
Thomas Simpson, Ph.D.
Our Clinical Education Agreement with Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) began in 2011, creating a strong clinical experience for students from their very first semester in the doctor of audiology (Au.D.) program. Students are supervised by staff audiologists from HFHS in our Audiology Clinic in Rackham Building on Wayne State University's main campus and then progress through clinical audiology rotations at nearby Henry Ford Hospital. Henry Ford Hospital audiologists provide services to a diverse patient population with a wide range of audiology conditions across the lifespan. In the third year, Au.D. students complete clinical assignments at Children's Hospital of Michigan, Veterans Administration Medical Centers, and in private practice settings. Students are able to learn in challenging and supportive environments and to become thoroughly well prepared for their future careers. In the fourth and final year of the Au.D. program, students complete a full-time externship that readies them to transition to full-time employment after graduation. Students may complete externship requirements at one of our many affiliated clinics, hospitals or private practice sites in Michigan, or out-of-state in the U.S. or Canada.
Dr. Thomas Simpson has been a full-time WSU faculty member in Audiology since 1990. He earned a Ph.D. from Michigan State University and developed research expertise focusing on Occupational Hearing Conservation. Dr. Simpson teaches the undergraduate course Introduction to Audiology and the graduate courses Anatomy and Physiology: Psychophysical Theories of Audition, Basic Audiologic Evaluation, Instrumentation in Audiology, and Hearing Loss Prevention. He is active in the Audiology Brown Bag series, offered biweekly on WSU campus to bring all Au.D. students together with faculty and CSD Ph.D. students to discuss research.
Brad Stach, Ph.D.
Dr. Brad Stach is Director of the Division of Audiology in The Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital. He oversees the clinical education program through our WSU-HFH affiliation agreement. Dr. Stach graduated with his Ph.D. in Audiology from Baylor College of Medicine and has extensive experience in clinical audiology, department administration, and professional leadership in the U.S. and Canada. He is the author of the widely used textbook, Clinical Audiology: An Introduction. For the new 3rd edition, he plans to add a collaborator on the textbook, former CSD faculty member Dr. Virginia Ramachandran. Dr. Stach teaches the Doctor of Audiology students in clinical evidence-based practice through case-based learning at Henry Ford Hospital in the course, Contemporary Issues in Audiology: Grand Rounds, and also co-teaches Electrophysiological Procedures.
Stephanie McLear, Au.D.
Dr. Stephanie McLear joined our full-time faculty in January as clinical coordinator for the doctor of audiology program. Dr. McLear earned her Au.D. from Wayne State University and previously earned a graduate degree in linguistics from WSU. She provides clinical services as a Senior Staff Audiologist at Henry Ford Hospital and supervises in our Audiology Clinic as needed. Her CSD course offerings include Introduction to Audiology, Phonetics, Contemporary Issues: Orientation to the Audiology Profession, Contemporary Issues: Developing a Clinic or Private Practice, Clinical Internship, and Audiology Externship. She coordinates supervisor use of the Typhon electronic system for documenting student clinical progress and clock hours.
Our wide network of outstanding clinical affiliations for our Au.D. students includes Children's Hospital of Michigan, The University of Michigan, and Michigan Ear Institute, among others. Thank you to all of these community partners!