UW Assistant Professor Receives Academic and Research Careers Award

An assistant professor with the Division of Communication Disorders in the University of Wyoming’s College of Health Sciences is a recipient of this year’s American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Advancing Academic-Research Careers (AARC) Award.

Amy Peterson, whose research focuses on intervention for adolescent students with language-related learning disabilities and implementation of evidence-based practices for speech-language pathologists, applied for the $5,000 award in April with the support of Mark Guiberson, director of the UW Division of Communication Disorders. Peterson will work with accomplished mentors in communication sciences and disorders to complete research and teaching projects through March 2025.

“I am humbled and extremely grateful to the ASHA-AARC Award committee and reviewers for the opportunity to be a part of this program -- and to work with experienced mentors in teaching and research who will facilitate meaningful growth in the early years of my career at the University of Wyoming,” Peterson says.

The AARC Award is a competitive award for early-career scholars in communication sciences and disorders to provide mentorship that enhances their research and college-level teaching skills.

“I’m excited to apply my teaching and research experiences afforded by the award with the UW students in the courses that I teach and advance my research career at UW to benefit the people of Wyoming,” Peterson says.

Peterson, an alumna of the speech-language pathology master’s program at UW (2010), joined the Division of Communication Disorders in fall 2022.

“Dr. Peterson’s firsthand experience as a speech-language pathologist in Wyoming uniquely positions her to address the challenges in the field, and we are highly optimistic that her teaching and research will pave the way for future practitioners,” Guiberson says. “The ASHA-AARC Award acknowledges her immense potential, and we look forward to seeing the impacts of her research and contributions to Wyoming and the broader field.”

During her first year, Peterson has sought out training and experiential learning opportunities to enhance her teaching. She is enthusiastic about learning more and applying active-learning principles to her courses through the award. Her enthusiasm for evidence-based practice and applied clinical skills is prominent in all courses that she teaches, as she shares her own clinical experiences in class to highlight different parts of the communication sciences and disorders professions.

“We are proud of Dr. Peterson for receiving this prestigious recognition for her excellence in research and instruction,” UW College of Health Sciences Dean Jacob Warren says. “She is an outstanding example of the dedication our programs have to providing hands-on training from experienced professionals.”

About the College of Health Sciences

UW’s College of Health Sciences trains health and wellness professionals and researchers in a wide variety of disciplines, including speech-language pathology, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, kinesiology, community and public health, and disability studies. Additionally, it is the home of the UW Speech and Hearing Clinic and the American Sign Language Studies Program.

The college also oversees residency and fellowship programs in Casper and Cheyenne, as well as operating primary care and speech/hearing clinics in Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne.

With more than 1,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, the college is dedicated to training the health and wellness workforce of Wyoming and conducting high-quality research and community engagement, with a particular focus on rural and frontier populations.