Monica and William Harn Scholarship in Speech and Hearing Sciences established at LU

The Lamar University Foundation has announced an endowed scholarship has been established for the College of Fine Arts and Communication. The Monica and William Harn Scholarship in Speech and Hearing will provide funding for outstanding students to further their studies at Lamar University.

Monica and William (Bill) Harn joined the Lamar University faculty in 2002 in the Department of Communication Disorders and Deaf Studies. Bill was named the first chair of the newly-created Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences in 2006. He served in that capacity until 2013 when he was appointed the dean of graduate studies. Monica then became the chairperson for the speech and hearing department at that time.

A native of Lake Charles, La., Monica earned her doctorate degree from Louisiana State University in 1995. She received the University Merit Award in 2008 and was the recipient of the Ben and Julie Rogers Award in 2014 for outstanding community service. Harn obtained a research grant from the National Institutes of Health that provided support for numerous Lamar University graduate students in speech-language pathology. She has published more than 30 journal articles, presented at state, national and international conferences and has directed more than 20 master’s theses.

Bill, a native of Forrest, Ill., earned his Ph.D. in communications disorders and sciences in 1988 from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He was a faculty member in communication disorders at Texas Tech University from 1987 to 1996. Harn is the author or co-author of numerous publications and delivered presentations at professional conferences since 1977. He has served as department chair at four universities.

“While serving on the faculty of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Monica and I have been inspired by the generous donors who have created scholarships for our majors such as the Paula and John Lovoi Scholarship, the Tony Houseman Memorial Scholarship and the Diane and Don Shaver Speech and Hearing Sciences Scholarship,” Bill said. “We seek through our scholarship to honor the academic excellence and dedication of each recipient, and we hope their careers will be as engaging and fulfilling as ours have been.”

The Harns worked as speech-language pathologists in the public schools prior to pursuing research careers in higher education. Throughout their careers, they have been focused upon improving assessment and treatment services for children with speech and language disorders.

For more information about establishing an endowed scholarship, contact the Lamar University Foundation at (409) 880-2117.