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WT Communication Disorders Instructor Scores Third National Award
Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu
CANYON, Texas — A West Texas A&M University communication disorders instructor has won his third national award.
Zeth Collom, a speech-language pathologist who has taught at WT since 2017, recently was given American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Award for Continuing Education. He previously was awarded the prize in February and November 2019.
The award is “a formal recognition of professionals who have demonstrated their commitment to lifelong learning,” according to ASHA’s website. To win the award, members must earn seven continuing education units, equivalent to 70 contact hours, within a 36-month period.
“We try to instill in our students that learning is going to occur for the rest of their lives, and I think we should practice that as well,” Collom said. “At the end of the day, I’m not expecting my students to do anything I’m not willing to do.”
Collom, who earned his master’s in communication disorders at WT in 2015, serves as both an academic and clinical instructor for WT, providing supervision to graduate students at the WT Speech and Hearing Clinic. There, he works alongside his former instructor, Dr. Brenda Cross, the communication disorders department head who also recently was named Best Audiologist in Best of Amarillo 2020.
“Zeth is devoted to life-long learning,” Cross said. “He is focused on research and best-evidence-based practice. Zeth also is excellent at tying the clinic to the classroom.”
Faculty excellence is a key component of the University’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
About West Texas A&M University
WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. With enrollment of more than 10,000, WT offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 38 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 15 men’s and women’s athletics programs.
—WTAMU—