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Cox is director of the Hearing Aid Research Laboratory in the University’s School of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Her research focuses on improving methods for fitting hearing aids on seniors (by making the process more precise and scientifically based) and measuring hearing aid performance and hearing aid benefits.

The Sparks Eminent Faculty Award recognizes exceptional and sustained contributions to scholarly-creative achievement, teaching and service, and for bringing recognition to the University. A recipient must have been employed at the University for at least five years to be considered for the award.

Cox is an accomplished instructor, adviser and a prolific researcher, making significant practical contributions to her field and increasing the understanding of human behavior related to hearing. Her laboratory has produced numerous tools that are used internationally in both clinical and research settings, including the Loudness Contour Test, the Connected Speech Test, and the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Living Scale. Cox has been invited to present her work in many countries, including Spain, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria. Her extensive publications have appeared in top peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Ear and Hearing and the Journal of Speech and Hearing Research.

She has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Indiana University, the American Academy of Audiology’s James Jerger Career Award for Research in Audiology, and is a two-time recipient of the University of Memphis’ Distinguished Research Award. She has been with the U of M for 33 years.  She is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, an honor afforded to only about one percent of the organization’s 130,000 members.

Others who will be recognized at Convocation include:

Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award winners
Dr. John Amis, management;
Dr. Teresa Dalle, English;
Dr. Remy Debes, philosophy; and
Ms. June Friedman Entman, law.

Thomas W. Briggs Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award winners
Dr. Fred Albertson, art; and
Dr. Anna Bess Sorin, biology;

Alumni Association Distinguished Advising Award winners
Ms. Mary H. Brignole, student development counselor; and
Dr. Rick Fischer, journalism;

Alumni Association Distinguished Research Award winners
Mr. James E. ‘Jed’ Jackson, art, in the creative arts;
Dr. Ernö Lindner, biomedical engineering, in science, engineering, and mathematics;
Dr. Dorothy Norris-Tirrell, urban affairs and public policy, in engaged scholarship;
Dr. David Patterson, Judaic studies, in the humanities; and
Dr. Marla Stafford, marketing and supply chain management, in the social sciences.

This year’s Allen J. Hammond Presidential Service Award winner is Mrs. Janet Mitchell, who retired in December 2008 after a 35-year career with the University, including eight years as administrative assistant to former President Lane Rawlins and the last seven years as assistant to President Shirley Raines.

For more information about the 2009 Faculty Convocation, visit the Convocation 2009 website.