Dr. Maria Diana Gonzales was appointed Chair of the Department of Communication Disorders effective August 1, 2006. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Speech from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master’s of Education degree from Texas State University-San Marcos, and a Ph.D. from Ohio University in Speech-Language Pathology. While at Ohio University, she received a National Institute of Health’s Small Research Grant to complete her dissertation, which was later published. She was also awarded an internal grant to study the emergent literacy skills of migrant Mexican-American preschoolers that also resulted in a publication. After earning her doctoral degree in 1997, Dr. Gonzales accepted a position as assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. While there, she taught graduate courses in child language disorders and a multicultural seminar course in speech-language pathology and was nominated for a campus wide Outstanding Teaching Award and Outstanding Faculty Advising Award. In 2000, Dr. Gonzales chose to return to her home state of Texas and was appointed as an assistant professor at Texas State. In 2003, she was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor. Dr. Gonzales developed and implemented a bilingual track in speech-language pathology at Texas State in 2002. This bilingual speech pathology track is only one of fourteen similar programs in the United States. She has authored and co-authored several refereed publications, a book chapter, and has presented numerous papers at national and state conferences. Her areas of research include developmental outcomes of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Hispanic infants, bilingual parent-child interactions, and the emergent literacy skills of normally developing and language disordered Hispanic and migrant Mexican-American preschoolers. During her employment at Texas State, Dr. Gonzales has been nominated for teaching and service awards and the Muriel Muir Excellence in Mentoring Award.

Arch R. Mallard, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Professor and past chair for the Department of Communication Disorders, retired effective August 31, 2006. He has provided many years of dedicated service to the department, college, university, and community. The Department of Communication Disorders wishes Dr. Mallard the best with any future endeavors.

Frances Burns, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, joined the department in the fall as an assistant professor. She received her Master's degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her Ph.D. in Communication Disorders from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Prior to accepting a position at Texas State University- San Marcos, she completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Burns’ research interests include “response to language and reading intervention” in children with specific language impairment from linguistically diverse backgrounds. She is currently involved in a reading intervention clinical trial with collaborators from Vanderbilt University.

Jana Proff, M.S., CCC-SLP, joined the department as a lecturer/clinical supervisor in September. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Communication Disorders from Texas State University in 2000. She earned a Master's degree from James Madison University in Virginia in 2002. Ms. Proff was awarded the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and is licensed to practice in the state of Texas as a speech-language pathologist. She was previously employed at McKenna Health System in New Braunfels, Texas for four years evaluating and treating adult neurogenic patients in the acute care, acute rehabilitation, home health, and outpatient settings and pediatric clients in the outpatient clinic.


Kevin Manning, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, was appointed assistant professor effective September 1st. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a graduate degree from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. from Ohio University. His areas of specialization include adult neurogenics, dysphagia, and voice.

Dr. Frances Burns co-authored an article entitled Narrative Language and Theory of Mind Acquisition: Effects of Development, Language Impairment, and Dialect which is in press and will be published in Applied Psycholinguistics.

Dr. Maria Diana Gonzales co-authored an article published in SpeechPathology.com on the reading readiness skills of Latino(a) preschool children diagnosed with language disorders.

Dr. Gonzales and three CDIS graduate students (Erica Chapa, Bianca Horton, and Kelly Strohschein) presented a mini-seminar on culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment and intervention at the annual convention of the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association which was held in Grapevine, Texas.

Dr. Gonzales, Renee Wendel, and Lori Stiritz co-authored two poster sessions that were presented at the annual convention of the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Burns, Dr. Gonzales, Ms. Wendel, and Ms. Stiritz are also scheduled to present papers at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association to be held in Miami Beach. Dr. Manning, Dr. Gonzales, and Anna Fox also presented poster sessions at the College Research Forum held at Texas State University.

Irene Talamantes, Administrative Assistant III in the Department of Communication Disorders, was selected as the Employee of the Month for June 2006. Ms. Talamantes is an exemplary employee and is considered the hub of the Department of Communication Disorders. She supports the needs of faculty so that their performance is never compromised. She interacts with students, helping them in their interactions with faculty, registration and routine advising. Routine tasks are always done prior to being asked, but so are the extra jobs that arise as part of the administration of a department that has both academic and clinical responsibilities associated with accreditation. She provides the administration with many of the answers they need which are often directed to Chairs. Ms. Talamantes is extremely reliable in her outstanding work performance and numerous responsibilities. Perhaps her greatest asset to our department is the image which she projects on the telephone and in person. In that capacity, she provides a positive image for the university as a whole. The committee received many letters in support of Irene’s nomination of Employee of the Month. One colleague commented, “Her dedication and work ethic are inspirational and we truly cannot be successful in our mission as a department without her.” Another said, “I truly believe that she is one of the brightest, shining stars at Texas State University-San Marcos and I urge you to honor her for her dedication to the mission of the university.” Congratulations, Irene, for being named Texas State’s Employee of the Month for June. You are truly deserving of the honor.

Renee Wendel, M.S., CCC-SLP, Clinical Director, was recognized at the Annual College of Health Professions Convocation meeting as a runner-up for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Service.

Lori Stiritz, M.A., CCC-A, was recognized during the Annual College of Health Profession's Convocation meeting for her dedicated service as the Department of Communication Disorders' Interim Chair for the past three years.

Maria Diana Gonzales, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association for outstanding and dedicated service to the state organization. The award was presented during the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association's annual conference in March.

The CDIS Department conducted a Hanen parent training program entitled, More Than Words (MTW), which was designed to help parents and graduate students work with children in the autism spectrum range (ASD). This unique program was conducted by Therese Kosary, M.S., CCC-SLP, a Hanen certified speech-language pathologist, and it was the first time such a program was offered at a university in the United States. The Hanen MTW approach is based on the belief that children learn to communicate best through natural interactions that take place in their everyday environments.

The Department of Communication Disorders will conduct a Hanen parent training program entitled “It Takes Two to Talk” during the fall semester. Parents of young children diagnosed with a communication disorder will attend evening classes where they will learn strategies to enhance their child’s language development. Graduate students will also complete the program in order to further develop their therapeutic skills. This program will be conducted by Anna Fox, M.S., CCC-SLP, a Hanen certified speech-language pathologist.

The Department of Communication Disorders will hold its annual Spring Conference next semester. Dr. Mary Andrianopoulos has already agreed to be the guest speaker. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and she will address the assessment and intervention of motor speech disorders. The actual date of the conference is still to be determined but visit the CDIS website at http://www.health.txstate.edu/cdis/ for regular updates on the Spring Conference.