Murilyn Koutstaal poses with a poster celebrating the endowed study abroad scholarship created in honor of her late husband, Cornelis Koutstaal.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Speech and Hearing Clinic, the University conducted a “Give $50 for the 50th” fundraising campaign with the goal of generating $50,000. After approximately a year of accepting donations, the campaign concluded in February 2013 with a grand total of $100,000 raised in cash, pledges and planned gift commitments.
“The outstanding results of the ‘Give $50 for the 50th’ fundraising campaign demonstrate the community’s willingness to invest in the Truman Speech and Hearing Clinic and its efforts to provide ongoing state-of-the-art speech-language-hearing and literacy services,” said Janet Gooch, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Education. “These results are also evidence of a deeply imbedded passion that our donors possess for improving our community.”
Truman’s Speech and Hearing Clinic has been helping residents from Kirksville and the surrounding area since 1960. In November 2011, it was moved into new facilities located in the Truman Health Sciences Building. The clinic serves individuals with disorders of speech, language, voice, fluency, hearing and swallowing, all at no cost to the people served. No-cost clinics are rare due to the necessary heavy reliance on donations. The Speech and Hearing Clinic provides services thanks to the support of the University and community organizations.
The Speech and Hearing Clinic also offers hands-on learning for Truman students. Students observe therapy, then become clinical assistants and eventually assume the responsibilities of student clinicians. Because student learning is a key component of the Speech and Hearing Clinic, it was also a high priority of the fundraising campaign.
The centerpiece of the campaign was the establishment of the Dr. Cornelis Koutstaal Endowed Study Abroad Scholarship, which was established by Murilyn Koutstaal, to honor the legacy of her late husband. Cornelis Koutstaal served as professor of communication disorders and head of the Human Potential and Performance Division at Truman from 1990-2001 and was honored with emeritus status upon his retirement.
