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A group of eight 1970s WIU alumni reunited on campus over the weekend.
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Group of 1970s WIU Alumni Return to Campus to Tour New Speech Pathology and Audiology Facilities

July 23, 2019

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MACOMB, IL – A group of alumni from Western Illinois University's speech pathology and audiology graduate program were on campus over the weekend to tour University facilities and reminisce about their time on campus.

The alumni graduated with master's degrees in communication arts and sciences between 1977-79 and were classmates in the Communication Arts and Sciences master's degree program. Members of the group were visiting from as far away as Texas and Florida, and as close as Macomb.

The alumni were joined by professors emeriti Carolyn Collins, William Francis and Maureen Marx, who organized the tours. Marx, who was a student with the alumni group, went on to become a WIU faculty member and chair of the department.

While on campus, the group was taken on a tour of the Browne Hall facilities they studied in and of the new speech-language clinic in Memorial Hall by College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) Associate Dean William "Buzz" Hoon, Speech Pathology and Audiology Department Chair Amanda Silberer and COFAC Director of Development Liz Swigart.

"Seeing such a tight-knit group of WIU alumni, reminiscing fondly of their time here, makes me very proud to be a part of the College of Fine Arts and Communication and WIU," said Hoon. "They truly were proud Leatherneck alumni."

The alumni group included Deb Crews, Pam Dlhy, Sylvia Olson, Tom Roth, Judy Ryan, Patti Nemec, Bonnie Hahn, Karen Rossi and Patti Tisinger. Nemec said the group was particularly impressed with the new clinic at the University.

"It is wonderful to see the state-of-the-art facility that students have available to them," said Nemec. "We are so proud of the education we got at Western and are also excited to see the advanced program opportunities that are being offered to new speech and language pathology students today."

Silberer said she was grateful to be a part of the reunion tour and hearing the stories the alumni shared.

"I enjoyed hearing about their experiences, their careers and how they have stayed in touch," said Silberer. "This was an amazing reminder of the impact of WIU, the love alums have for it and the people who make it great. Some things never change - Once a Leatherneck, always a Leatherneck."

For more information about WIU's Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology visit wiu.edu/spa.





Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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