President Zimpher to take quiet time
Rose Diroll
Issue date: 5/10/07 Section: News
In honor of Better Hearing and Speech Month, the University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences is scheduled to hold Sponsored Silence during its ninth annual Presentations of Research and Innovative/Scholarly Endeavors Conference Friday, May 11.
UC President Nancy Zimpher is set to open the event at 9 a.m. in the Kresge Auditorium inside the Medical Sciences Building. Zimpher is also the focus of the Sponsored Silence.
During a Sponsored Silence, a public figure remains silent for 15 minutes during his or her work day, Martha Coen-Cummings, state chair of the event, said. During this 15-minute time period, the person has to communicate using an augmentative and alternative communication device, a type writer-like device with 32 buttons programmed to say certain words or sentences.
"My students heard about Sponsored Silence and they really wanted her to give the opening," Carney Sotto, assistant clinical professor and director of undergraduate studies in communication sciences and disorders said.
Sotto said the students wanted to do the Sponsored Silence event to raise awareness for hearing and speech communications in the Cincinnati area.
"The intent of Sponsored Silence is to increase public awareness regarding the importance of communication and the profound impact and isolation that can occur when communication is disrupted or completely lost," Sotto said.
UC is the third school to participate in the Sponsored Silence event. Coen-Cummings said after this year she plans to take the idea to Washington, D.C. to make it a national event.
Coen-Cummings said she got the idea while seeing a similar event in Australia. She said the "sponsored" part of it is to make people who are watching the event feel included.
"Our point is to do it publicly so that the public is aware of what happens when you aren't born with a voice or you lose your voice," Coen-Cummings said. "It could happen to anyone."
UC President Nancy Zimpher is set to open the event at 9 a.m. in the Kresge Auditorium inside the Medical Sciences Building. Zimpher is also the focus of the Sponsored Silence.
During a Sponsored Silence, a public figure remains silent for 15 minutes during his or her work day, Martha Coen-Cummings, state chair of the event, said. During this 15-minute time period, the person has to communicate using an augmentative and alternative communication device, a type writer-like device with 32 buttons programmed to say certain words or sentences.
"My students heard about Sponsored Silence and they really wanted her to give the opening," Carney Sotto, assistant clinical professor and director of undergraduate studies in communication sciences and disorders said.
Sotto said the students wanted to do the Sponsored Silence event to raise awareness for hearing and speech communications in the Cincinnati area.
"The intent of Sponsored Silence is to increase public awareness regarding the importance of communication and the profound impact and isolation that can occur when communication is disrupted or completely lost," Sotto said.
UC is the third school to participate in the Sponsored Silence event. Coen-Cummings said after this year she plans to take the idea to Washington, D.C. to make it a national event.
Coen-Cummings said she got the idea while seeing a similar event in Australia. She said the "sponsored" part of it is to make people who are watching the event feel included.
"Our point is to do it publicly so that the public is aware of what happens when you aren't born with a voice or you lose your voice," Coen-Cummings said. "It could happen to anyone."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
nick
posted 10/11/07 @ 4:30 PM EST
I think Sponsored Silence is awesome.
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