Dr. Judith S. Gravel - In Memoriam

The audiology community mourns the passing of Dr. Judith S. Gravel, Director of the Center for Childhood Communication at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and prominent researcher, author, professor and world-renowned authority in pediatric audiology, on December 31st. Dr. Gravel's distinguished career in pediatric audiology, with interests in universal newborn hearing screening, early hearing detection/intervention and otitis media, spanned several decades, and included faculty positions at prestigious universities and teaching roles at leading medical schools. She was instrumental in the development of many current protocols and best practice guidelines through her work as member of the NIH-NIDCD Working Group on Early Identification of Hearing Impairment, member of the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (Chair 2003 - 2005), Chair of New York's consensus panel that developed guidelines for serving children with hearing impairment from birth to age 3, and numerous other national and international committees, panels, task forces and working groups. Her publications included textbooks, book chapters, and peer-reviewed journal articles. In addition, Dr. Gravel served editorial roles at several journals and was a highly regarded lecturer. She received many honors and awards throughout her career for her tireless efforts that shaped the field of pediatric audiology, including ASHA's highest achievement, the Honors of the Association, in 2008. Those who knew her personally lauded her integrity, passion, optimism and warmth. A fund has been set up in her honor:

Judy Gravel Pediatric Audiology Fund
c/o The Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center
1215 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37240

Dr. Gravel's influence on the colleagues who knew her, the countless children whose lives were impacted through her work, and the audiology profession as a whole, will always be remembered.