Biography
Eleanor M. Luse founded the Speech and Hearing Clinic at the University of Vermont in 1953.
Eleanor Luse was born in Chicago, Illinois and received her Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees from Northwestern University. She taught at Coe College in Iowa, the Boston School of Physical Education and Wells College in New York. While on sabbatical from Wells College, she received her Doctorate in voice and speech pathology.
In 1947, she came to the University of Vermont, where she was given the task of starting a program for voice and speech pathology. She founded the Speech and Hearing Clinic in 1953, which was renamed the Eleanor M. Luse Center for Communication Disorders in 1973.
Luse worked with people who had a variety of disorders, including stuttering, deafness, cleft palates and those recovering from laryngectomies. She tested her own theories on patients and found that one particularly helpful technique was to release the tension in the larynx and build breath support for vocalization.
In addition to teaching, doing research, and working with patients, Luse also spoke at clubs and schools about the need to recognize and treat speech difficulties. As a result of her awareness programs, speech and hearing services were established at all schools in Vermont.
For her efforts in voice rehabilitation, Luse received a Service Award from the American Cancer Society and was elected as a Fellow of the American Speech and Hearing Society. She also received the Gamma Phi Beta Service Award and Carnation Award, and was presented with honorary degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Vermont.
Luse retired in 1970, but didn't stop teaching at UVM until 1975. For many years after her retirement, she served as a consultant at the Center. Luse eventually moved to California to be near her sisters and passed away on November 19, 1997.Education
BA, MA, PhD, Northwestern UniversityOccupation
Speech and Voice Pathologist