If you have questions about gifts to the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, contact:
Liz Bereit
Office of Strategic Gifts, Development Officer
College of Health and Behavioral Studies
bereitea@jmu.edu
540.568.8814
Sonner Hall, MSC 4406
All contributions are tax deductible.
Giving Opportunities
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) needs your help! Our Department engages students, faculty and members of the community to advance the state of knowledge through basic and applied research, innovative professional and pre-professional education, and enhanced clinical practices to better serve those with communication disorders. Your tax-deductible contribution will help us develop these resources:
- Promote student and faculty innovation, scholarship and professional development in the context of the department’s programs.
- Support audiology student research projects conducted at JMU.
- Develop scholarships for deserving students who might otherwise not be able to afford to enroll in our programs.
CSD Fund Options
List of Funds
This fund supports fellowships and scholarships for graduate students pursuing programs in speech-language pathology, as well as our intensive, 6-week speech and language summer program that serves over 25 children each summer. The Scotish Rite summer program provides excellent learning opportunities for our students.
This fund provides scholarships for first-year graduate students in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology who are graduates of JMU's undergraduate CSD program.
This fund supports the work of the Communication Sciences and Disorders department.
The Roger Ruth fund support students and faculty research, enhance the educational opportunities for students and practicing clinicians and provides a venue for professional networking. This fund was established to honor Dr. Roger A. Ruth, who served for over 30 years as Director of Audiology and and Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center in Charlottesville. In 2000, he undertook a joint faculty position at James Madison University as Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Through this fund Dr. Ruth is honored for his commitment to students, research and the advancement of the professions in Communication Sciences and Disorders.
The Robin C. McKay Memorial Scholarship is awarded to an outstanding undergraduate student in the Communication Sciences & Disorders program who is studying speech-language pathology. This scholarship honors Robin McKay, a 1985 graduate of the JMU Sppech Pathology and Audiology program, who was passionate about the field of speech-language pathology and demonstrated her professional focus during college and after through numerous activities including work for the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton, the Danny Williams School for the deaf in Kingston, Jamacia, the Pimrose House of Safety for orphans in Jamaca. Shortly after her enrollment in Gallaudet University's master's degree program in deaf counseling, Robin died tragically from viral myocarditis contracted during her travels. In an effort to cope with the devastating loss, Robin's family established this scholarship in her memory. They felt that the best way to share Robin with the world was to encourage someone to continue in her chosen field of speech-language pathology.
This scholarship helps to provide financial assistance to outstanding full-time graduate students pursing a degree in a program offered by the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. This scholarship honors the member of Melvin Will Jr. because of his involvement with the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department and their applied teaching laboratory, the JMU Speech and Hearing Center. In 1979, Mr Will suffered a severe stroke and was stricken with aphasia. He received excellent help for his condition from the James Madison University speech and hearing center. He enjoyed working with the faculty and staff and the graduate students at the center. He especially enjoyed the companionship of the adult aphasia group that met on Fridays. He died in 1997. The Melvin Will, Jr. Scholarship is given in his memory and in gratitude for the services he received from the James Madison University speech and hearing center.
MSC 4304
235 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
