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After 36 years of service to the Department of Hearing and Speech, the School of Health Professions, the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the discipline of Sciences and Communication Disorders, John Ferraro retired on June 30, 2020. His impact on all these areas cannot be understated.
Dr. Ferraro served as chair of the Department of Hearing and Speech and Co-Director of the Intercampus Program in Communicative Disorders for 34 of his 36 years at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Under his leadership, the Intercampus Program gained a national reputation as one of the top graduate programs in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. In addition to his long tenure as department chair, he served in a number of other leadership positions, including Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Practice in the School of Health Professions, Interim Dean of the School of Health Professions, Associate Dean for Research of the School of Health Professions, Acting Dean of the School of Allied Health, and Associate Dean of the School of Allied Health.
Beyond his extensive record of service and leadership, Dr. Ferraro is a distinguished scientist, teacher, and mentor. He has more than 100 publications that included 2 books (and another out soon), 19 book chapters and over 70 journal articles. He has given more than 250 peer-reviewed or invited presentations nationally and internationally. He has received numerous awards for his teaching and mentoring and is recognized as a Fellow of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, receiving their honors in 2006.
Those of us who have been his colleagues and friends know him to be a tireless advocate for the Department of Hearing and Speech and its students.He has an uncanny ability to make all feel welcome and developed a strong sense of family among faculty and staff in the department. We miss seeing John on a daily basis, and particularly miss the corny jokes and Yogi Berra quotes.
Please join us in honoring him by contributing to the John A. Ferraro Audiology Scholarship, which will help us to continue his legacy by contributing to the education of future generations of audiology students.
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A note from Dr. Ferraro:
