April 4, 2016

The Arnold School of Public Health’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD) will hold its second annual FUNdraiser, Something to Talk About, on May 13 from 7-10 p.m. at the University of South Carolina Alumni Center (900 Senate Street Columbia, S.C. 29201). The event will feature food, music, a silent auction and, of course, fun. Tickets ($50/person) will provide heavy hors d’oeuvres from Southern Way, wine/beer/non-alcoholic drinks, music and access to the silent auction. Proceeds will benefit the USC Speech and Hearing Research Center.

For over 45 years, the Center has provided quality diagnostic and treatment programs for individuals of all ages from the greater metropolitan area of Columbia, S.C. Because the Center is housed within the COMD department, it always benefits from being informed by the latest research in the field, with the researchers sharing office space and often seeing patients as well. Through excellence in teaching, service, and research, the Center aims to meet the needs of this diverse community with regard to the nature, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders and disabilities.

The team works to give clients the highest quality and most effective evaluation and treatment in order to improve their social, educational and vocational participation. The Center serves individuals of all ages with problems such as articulation, stuttering, selective mutism, fluency, voice, language and reading/literacy, Parkinson’s, hearing, etc., logging 6,000 patient visits and approximately 225 patient outreach hours per year. Programs in the state and helps prepare the next generation of speech-language pathologists and communication science and disorders researchers. 

Proceeds from the auction will enhance the department’s academic and clinical programs as well as help the department work toward its goal of continuing to expand its programs of breakthrough treatment and research. To learn more or buy tickets to the Something to Talk About fundraiser, please visit the event website. For questions, contact Danielle Varnedoe, Director for the USC Speech and Hearing Research Center, at daniell@mailbox.sc.edu or 803-777-2629.