Kristy Weissling named SECD Interim Department Chair

17 Jan 2023     By Kelcey Buck

As 2023 begins, the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders is welcoming a new interim department chair, professor of practice Kristy Weissling. Weissling takes over for Steven Barlow who is returning to his faculty position in the department as the Corwin Moore Professor and director of the Communication Neuroscience Laboratories. 

“The college is thankful for Steven’s leadership through the Barkley construction project and pandemic-related issues,” said Sherri Jones, Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences. “I am looking forward to working with Kristy, who has longstanding experience with the department’s programs and significant knowledge about campus from her service on faculty senate. Kristy will be a great interim chair.” 

Weissling is in her 20^th year as a faculty member in SECD. In addition to being a professor of practice, she serves as the speech-language pathology program director as well as the clinic coordinator for the Barkley Speech Language and Hearing Clinic’s speech and language services. Beth Dinneen, a lecturer and clinical supervisor, will be serving as interim in the latter role while Weissling serves as interim chair. 

“The work of SECD is vitally important to the college, the university and the community,” Weissling said. “My goal in this interim period is to work with faculty, staff, students and stakeholders to determine what we are looking for in our next leader. We will work to finish up our construction projects, hire new faculty where needed, and do a self-study to determine what the next years and decade hold for us as a department.” 

Weissling completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Nebraska before earning her professional doctorate in speech-language pathology (SLP.D.) from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her primary interest is in acquired neurogenic communication disorders, with additional interests in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), adult developmental communication differences, and cognitive linguistic changes in aging. 

In addition to her roles in SECD, Weissling is also an active member of the university’s faculty senate executive committee, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC). She has also served as the vice president of the Nebraska Stroke Association since 2015. 

A national search for a department chair for SECD will begin later in 2023.