The Department of Communicative disorders awards a number of departmental awards and scholarships each year. For a list of recent recipients, visit the Recipients of Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships page.
Departmental Awards
Barbara Kucharski Award for Undergraduate Clinical Excellence
Barbara Kucharski was a graduate of UA’s program in Speech Language Pathology and served as a clinical supervisor and instructor for over 30 years in the Department of Communicative Disorders. Throughout the years, her excellent clinical skills helped shepherd the careers of many graduate students in the program. Each year this award is given to an undergraduate student who displays excellent clinical skills.
Dr. Eugene B. Cooper Memorial Award
Dr. Cooper was the Chair of the Department of Communicative Disorders and Director of the Speech and Hearing Center from 1967 to 1996. His professional interests focused on the provision of care for those who stutter. In 2001 he received the Stuttering Foundation of America’s prestigious Malcom Fraser Award for his life-time contributions to those who stutter. In 2002 he was inducted into the National Stuttering Association’s Hall of Fame for his lifetime of service to those who stutter.
Scott-Harris Award
This award was created by a minority graduate student, Valencia Scott, and her mentor, Kandis Chatman, in the fall of 2020. The purpose of the award is to honor an exceptional minority graduate student in Speech Language Pathology each year. The department is indebted to Ms. Scott and Ms. Chatman for the work they have done to recognize minority students in the program.
SHAA Award
SHAA is the Speech and Hearing Association of Alabama. Each year they give an award to a student that recognizes all around and professional performance. This award is given to a graduate student each year.
Other Departmental Awards
The Department of Communicative Disorders also awards the Diversity Award and Outstanding Research Award.
Departmental Scholarships
Edward Ervin Guy Jr. Endowed Scholarship in Communicative Disorders
Edward E. Guy, Jr. was a client of the University of Alabama Speech and Hearing Center during his childhood and early teens. Mr. Guy, deaf since the age of three, received outstanding guidance, education, and therapy from an audiologist, Rebecca Brooks, during his time with the Speech and Hearing Center. The scholarship is a way to give back for the outstanding, life-changing support brought about by dedicated professionals at the University of Alabama who help people with hearing, speech, and language disorders. Mr. Guy works at the University of Alabama as an administrative assistant to Dr. John Schmitt, Associate Dean of the Graduate School. The Award is to provide an annual merit scholarship to an outstanding Undergraduate and an outstanding Graduate student in Communicative Disorders. This award was established in 2014.
Joe T. McCrary Endowed Scholarship
The Joe T. McCrary Endowed Scholarship was established in 2005 in memory of Joe McCrary, spouse of University of Alabama Speech and Hearing Center clinical supervisor, Debra McCrary. It is given each year to the outstanding senior in communicative disorders. The recipient is chosen by the academic and clinical faculty of the Department of Communicative Disorders.
2021 Recipients: Anna Jane Brown and Kira Woods
Mary T. Hamner Endowed Scholarship
Mary T. Hamner was a graduate of the University of Alabama and long-term resident of Tuscaloosa. She taught high school for almost 40 years. Ms. Hamner received services for hearing loss through the Speech and Hearing Center from 1988 until she passed away in 1999, leaving a portion of her estate to the Speech and Hearing Center. In her memory, the Mary T. Hamner Award was established to provide an annual merit scholarship to an outstanding Undergraduate (junior) and Graduate student majoring in Communicative Disorders.
University of Alabama Graduate Fellowships
Our graduate students have won prestigious fellowships from the Graduate School, including the Dean’s Merit Assistantship, Graduate Council Fellowship, McNair Fellowship, and National Alumni Association Fellowship. Visit the Recipients of Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships page for a list of recent graduate fellowship recipients.