History

HISTORY

Ohio University’s studies in Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences date to 1937, when it was part of the School of Dramatic Art and Speech in the College of Fine Arts. Students majored in correction and interpretation, preparing to work with children and adults with communication disorders. A graduate program was added in 1950, followed by a doctoral program in 1957 — Ohio University’s second such offering. By the mid-1960s, the speech and drama programs had been split into separate entities, with the School of Hearing and Speech Sciences housed in various locations around campus: Kantner Hall, then Ewing Hall, then Lindley Hall.

The School of Hearing and Speech Sciences was one of the founding members of the newly created College of Health and Human Services in 1979. When the constituent schools of the college moved into the renovated Grover Center in 2001, the school added “Language” to its name. During the academic restructuring that created the College of Health Sciences and Professions in 2010, the school was renamed Communication Sciences and Disorders and joined with Physical Therapy to form the School of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences.

Effective June 2022, our unit name has now returned to Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences.