For nearly 60 years, the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic was a place where Iowans came to find support, answers, and confidence in their speaking and hearing abilities. It was where children worked through their first words, adults regained communication after illness or injury, and generations of students learned how to become compassionate, skilled clinicians.
Now, that work continues in a new space—and under a new name.
The University of Iowa Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic (SLHC), formerly the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic, has relocated to the Health Sciences Academic Building (HSAB), giving the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders’ faculty, staff, and students state-of-the-art space in a shared environment designed for collaboration, learning, and clinical care. The move marks the clinic’s first new home in nearly six decades and offers an opportunity to reintroduce one of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ most community-facing services.
As one of the few patient-facing units in CLAS, the clinic connects the university’s teaching and research mission directly to the people it serves in the greater eastern Iowa community. Later this spring, the Department of Health, Sport, and Human Physiology will also move into HSAB, bringing with it the Exercise Oncology clinic. Those in the Carver College of Medicine’s Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science will also move into the space, expanding the building’s role as a hub for patient-facing services within the university.
“This move gives us the chance to reflect on what has made the clinic special for so long,” said Anu Subramanian, director of graduate studies in Speech-Language Pathology. “It has always been a place where learning and care happen together—where our clients feel supported and students grow into skilled, thoughtful clinicians.”
Academic expertise meets patient care
The UI Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic is part of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, long recognized as a national leader in speech-language pathology and audiology. In the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, Iowa’s audiology program is again ranked No. 2 in the country, and its speech-language pathology program is ranked No. 3—making Iowa the only public university with both programs in the top three—a reflection of the department’s long-standing leadership in research, clinical training, and patient care.
Graduate student clinicians provide care under the close supervision of licensed faculty members, many of whom are leaders and expert practitioners in their fields. Students gain practical training, while patients receive personalized, evidence-based care informed by the latest research.
“Our rankings reflect decades of leadership in this discipline, driven by the research, clinical innovation, and teaching happening in this department,” said Eric Hunter. “What matters most, though, is how that expertise shows up in our training of students and service to the community through the clinic—where students learn by doing and where patients receive care shaped by the latest advances in the field.”
Iowa's Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic offers a wide range of services for patients of all ages, supporting individuals with speech and language disorders, voice conditions, swallowing concerns, hearing challenges, and cognitive communication needs. Some patients come for early childhood speech and language support. Others are navigating recovery after stroke, managing Parkinson’s disease, addressing voice strain, or seeking hearing services. Each person’s care plan is individualized, with a focus on helping people communicate more effectively and confidently in daily life.
Audiology services are a central part of the clinic’s offerings, with comprehensive care ranging from diagnostic hearing evaluations to hearing aid services and auditory rehabilitation. With hearing health often undertreated, the clinic provides accessible, individualized care for patients across the lifespan.
“Our audiology clinic offers comprehensive care, including hearing evaluations, hearing aid services, and support for patients adjusting to hearing changes,” said Kellsie Busho, director of clinical programs in Audiology. “We’re focused on training students in evidence-based, patient-centered care and helping people stay connected in their daily lives.”
While the clinic address has changed, the mission has not. Iowa's Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic remains a place where expertise is shared and leveraged; futures are shaped, and communication changes lives—one student, one patient, and one family at a time.
