2024 Bender of Twigs

Brian Ray, MA, CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF has made a remarkable and lasting impact on the students, faculty, staff, and clients he has worked alongside and served in his career at Wichita State University. His contributions to the Department of Communication Disorders (CSD) are vast, and he represents this university at the local, state, and national levels as an expert in his field. It is an honor to work alongside him at the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language Hearing Clinic, and it was a privilege to have been a former student. Over the past two decades, I have witnessed firsthand his knowledge, passion, and incredible dedication to the field of speech-language pathology; the passion he demonstrated to me as a student nearly 20 years ago remains unchanged today.

As an alumnus of Wichita State University himself, Brian is a champion for this university and for investing in the future of his career by investing in WSU students. Brian is the only speech-language pathologist in the state of Kansas to be a Board-Certified Specialist in Fluency Disorders. He serves clients of all ages at our clinic, while simultaneously teaching both graduate and undergraduate students in CSD who are learning the skills necessary to become speech-language pathologists.

Although Brian both teaches and serves clients with a variety of speech and language disorders, his primary focus as a Clinical Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders has been on evaluating and treating fluency disorders. Brian has served the community and WSU graduate students by providing a Stuttering Camp at Wichita State University for over 20 years, making an immediate and lasting impact in the lives of the children he works with each summer. He has a wealth of research, presentations, and accolades from a lifetime of work in fluency disorders and is a regular consultant to speech-language pathologists across the state and nation. The amount of time and energy he gives to his clients of all ages is unmatched. It is humbling to think about how many individuals have been impacted by his energy, enthusiasm, expertise, and passion for serving those with fluency disorders.

Brian embodies what an educator should be. He is friendly, calm, and resourceful to all students, and holds them to a high standard of professional expectations. Brian is known in the CSD department as someone you can depend on, someone with unmatched humor and wit, and as a champion for students. He challenges students to see our profession through a lens of creativity, critical thinking and compassion, while holding true to evidence-based practice. Brian is also a mentor to students far beyond their graduation from WSU, building strong community relationships with other professionals who serve people with speech and language disorders.

Apart from his tireless work in diagnosing and treating speech and language disorders, Brian is invaluable to this university and our field because of his wide variety of expertise. He is the ultimate team player and will fill in where needed without hesitation. He graciously and frequently shares his knowledge with all his students and works hard to grow the next generation of speech-language pathologists, not because it’s his job, but because it is his passion. Brian makes Wichita State University a better place. I personally continue to learn and grow from Brian daily in my job. Having his constant support, positivity, flexibility, and servant heart makes my role easy. Brian’s desire to put others before himself is evident every day in this clinic. Thank you for all you have done to inspire generations of speech-language pathologists as well as your colleagues simply by being you! We are all better having learned from you and experienced your friendship!