College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5243 USA
(269) 387-7367

SLP alumna Staskowski receives association's highest honor

Dr. Maureen Staskowski ’87
Staskowski, right, with husband Darryl

Congratulations to alumna Dr. Maureen Staskowski '87 (B.S.); ’88 (M.A.), who recently received the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MSHA) Honors of the Association, the highest award the association can bestow. Currently the consultant for speech, language and literacy at Macomb Intermediate School District, Staskowski is known to be one of the truly influential speech-language pathology professionals in the state. Her leadership has resulted in resources that have helped to define practices that influenced federal laws, state rules, the scope of practice for speech-language pathologists, and understandings in the field.

Along with other leadership roles with MSHA, Staskowski served as president in 2009 and has been a frequent presenter at association conferences. She was instrumental in the pursuit of licensure for Michigan and spent many hours preparing and providing testimony to legislators. Her service to the profession also includes producing and editing Michigan’s Speech and Language Guidelines and Suggestions for Eligibility, Service Delivery, and Exit Criteria, Revised, a document which continues to be influential today.

Among those who nominated Staskowski, her highest praise may have come from the director of the WMU College of Health and Human Services Interdisciplinary Health Sciences doctoral program Dr. Nickola Nelson, who stated, “In addition to this objective evidence, I would offer my personal endorsement of Maureen Staskowski’s outstanding qualities as a consummate clinician and a leader of MSHA, as well as a genuinely nice human being. Above all, she cares about children with communication disorders and their families. I know of no one who has had a bigger impact on the provision of curriculum-related services in our state. It is without reservations and with full confidence, that I offer my highest recommendation for Dr. Maureen Staskowski to receive the recognition of MSHA Honors for her impressive body of work and high impact on quality of service delivery in our state of Michigan.”