For immediate release
May 28, 2003

The Texas House of Representatives recently recognized and honored the Voice Institute of West Texas, located on the campus of Abilene Christian University, and its staff for exemplary work in voice and speech-language pathology.

The House issued a resolution on May 8 honoring Dr. Austin King, ear, nose and throat specialist; Dr. Charles Nelson, voice pedagogy specialist and ACU professor emeritus of music; and Dr. Jon Ashby, speech-language pathologist and professor of communication at ACU, for their establishment in 1985 of the Voice Institute and its contributions to the state of Texas in the scientific treatment of voice and speech.

The Voice Institute of West Texas is a laboratory located in ACU's Speech and Hearing Clinic. It serves the fine arts community by cultivating singing and vocal pedagogy, the health professions by providing diagnostic and clinical research studies in patients, and higher education by providing observation, clinical practice, diagnostic experience and research opportunities for students of voice and speech-language pathology.

King, Nelson and Ashby have produced six interdisciplinary conferences with nationally-known speakers on the care and treatment of the professional voice and have provided programs at more than 25 state, national and international medical conferences and conventions.

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