Dr. David Stein, professor and director of the Speech-Language Pathology program, received the distinction Honors of the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association for 2011.

It is the highest award presented by the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association, recognizing Stein's “devotion to his career as a speech-language pathologist as a clinician, mentor, professor, administrator, and colleague.”

Stein was chosen because of his extensive and varied experience and his involvement at the local, state, and national levels. This included representing the audiologists and speech-language pathologists of Pennsylvania on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Legislative Council. The award also recognizes him “as a source of inspiration and leadership to both students and colleagues, and as a dedicated professional to the education of future audiologists and speech-language pathologists.”

In addition to receiving the award, Stein presented or copresented several programs at a recent convention of the association.

“The College of Education and Educational Technology is extremely proud of Dr. Stein's achievements, and we are honored to have him as our colleague,” Dr. Mary Ann Rafoth, dean of the college, said.

Stein has served the association for thirty-four years, including as president, past president, and a member of the executive board and many committees.

“When you volunteer to serve on professional boards and committees, you don't do it because you hope to be honored one day, but it's really wonderful to have your professional colleagues in the state acknowledge your work in this way,” Stein said.

During his time as president of the association, he oversaw the reintroduction of a new licensure act and sparked changes in how the Pennsylvania Department of Education certifies speech-language pathologists, specifically to develop a new Educational Specialist Certificate for speech-language pathologists.

He also worked on the initiative that resulted in the Department of Education's acceptance of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's National Exam in speech-language pathology for its Instructional I Certificate. These changes are designed to help more speech-language pathologists be eligible to work in Pennsylvania public schools and remove barriers that keep them from choosing the schools as a work site.

Stein has been a faculty member at IUP since 1992. He received his B.S.Ed. from IUP in 1975 and subsequently earned graduate degrees at Kent State and the University of Pittsburgh.