Kimberly Frazier, associate professor of communication disorders, was recognized with the Arkansas Speech-Language Hearing Association (ArkSHA) Research Award in mid-October 2018. This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the research literature related to the professions of speech pathology or audiology. This is the first time in the history of the Communication Disorders Program that a U of A faculty member has received this award.

One of her recent projects is a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, which runs from 2017-2022 and funds an interdisciplinary graduate certificate program on which Frazier is a co-principal investigator. This grant funds five communications disorders scholars each year for the next five years to pursue a master's degree in communication disorders with a specialty in transition services. Over the next five years, Frazier will be collecting and analyzing data on graduate student outcomes, outcomes of targeted youth with disabilities, and the experiences of interdisciplinary teams including families of individuals with disabilities.

Frazier is also currently working on several projects concerning social-emotional learning and executive function in various populations. Most recently, her publication on executive function and social skill support was published in Journal of Life Care Planning. She will also be presenting on these topics at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association convention in Boston later this month.

Additionally, Frazier is the coordinator of the Communication Disorders Program in the College of Education and Health Professions, where she teaches multiple course sections and serves on numerous committees at the department and college levels. Frazier has made contributions to the University and to the field of Communication Disorders by actively participating in research and scholarship. In 2017 she was received the Outstanding All-Around Faculty award for the Department of Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders in the College of Education and Health Professions. Frazier's contributions to the field of communication disorders are exemplary and will continue to impact our field for years to come.