PULLMAN, Wash. — Gail Chermak, chair of Washington State University’s Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, has been elected a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Election to fellowship is one of the highest honors ASHA awards and requires a member to make outstanding contributions to communication sciences and disorders. Chermak’s election was based on her nationally recognized research in the area of auditory processing disorders. Of ASHA’s 100,000 plus membership, only 1,100 are Fellows. Approximately 20-35 members are elected in any given year for recognition.
Chermak’s book, “Central Auditory Processing Disorders: New Perspectives,” co-authored with Frank Musiek and published in 1997 by Singular Publishing Group, has become a landmark volume in the field. She played an important role nationally when she was among 14 senior scientists and clinicians who met two years ago to reach consensus on the best practices in diagnosis of auditory processing problems in school-age children.
Chermak will be formally recognized at the ASHA annual convention in Atlanta this November.
ASHA’s mission is to ensure that all people with speech, language and hearing disorders have access to quality services. A Fellow designation in ASHA is bestowed on about 1 percent of the group’s membership.
