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The Goldstick Initiative
The Goldstick Initiative for the Study of Communication Disorders
The need for a new and sustainable doctoral training program in the area of communication disorders in children and youth is clear. Families and schools need more special education teachers and administrators to ensure that every child, regardless of disability, has the opportunity to live her/his life as independently as possible in one's home, neighborhood, and community. Through the generous support of Phillip C. and Beverly Goldstick of Chicago, an endowment was created for the College of Education in Spring 2005 to fund the Goldstick Initiative for the Study of Communication Disorders.
Three Major Components of the Goldstick Initiative
The Goldstick Family Lecture Series in Communicative Disorders
This public lecture/seminar series will serve a key role in transitioning the knowledge and methods developed in the department to the larger community that will receive direct benefits from it. This series will feature faculty and students from Illinois, as well as bring leaders in the field from across the country to this campus to share their work. The inaugural lecture was held during Fall 2005 on the Urbana-Champaign campus and lectures continue each Fall. Following is a list of the featured speakers each year:
2005--Dr. Ann Kaiser, Professor, Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University
2006--Dr. Joe Riechle, Professor, Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, University of Minnesota
2007--Dr. Amy Wetherbe, Professor, College of Communication, Florida State University:
The Goldstick Family Doctoral Fellowships
Two doctoral students will receive fully-funded research fellowships starting in 2006. These fellowships will provide a crucial competitive edge in recruiting the best new students into the program. Additionally, this level of support will allow these students to fully concentrate on their research and training program, getting them into the workforce more rapidly.
The Goldstick Family Scholar in Communication Disorders
The Goldstick Family Scholar will be recruited from the faculty of the Department of Special Education, or through a national search, to serve as the coordinator of the Goldstick Initiative. Income from the endowment will provide salary support and funding to further her/his research program in communication disorders. The current Goldstick Family Scholar is Dr. James Halle.
An Investment with a Direct Impact
In the Department of Special Education in the College of Education, research and practice come together in compassion and in a shared vision of a society where all children, from the most gifted to those with profound disabilities, have the same opportunity to learn, to live and to succeed. Our doctoral program prepares the next generation of university faculty. Our teacher preparation curriculum takes undergraduate students and readies them for careers in the classrooms of Illinois and the nation. The Goldstick Initiative for the Study of Communication Disorders will play a major role in helping us maintain that commitment into the next century.