- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Jazz and Juleps will celebrate Brooks Gibson Wolfe May 24

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 17 May 2018 13:56:46 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will raise money for audiology and speech pathology students at the ninth annual Jazz and Juleps event, presented by the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Development Council of the Audiology and Speech Pathology Department, on Thursday, May 24, at the Clinton Presidential Center. The evening, which celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month, will begin with hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, a silent auction, and live music by Mojo de Jazz at 6 p.m. The night’s emcee, Ashlen Batson Thomasen, 2008 Miss Arkansas and an adjunct faculty member at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, will begin the program at 7 p.m. The event will also celebrate Brooks Gibson Wolfe, senior audiologist at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, as the 2018 Jazz and Juleps honoree. All proceeds from the event will be used to create an endowed scholarship fund in Wolfe’s name to assist future students in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. “Brooks Gibson Wolfe was chosen for this honor to highlight her work with children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their parents, and with a focus on those who are underprivileged and underserved,” said Nan Ellen East, retired executive director of Disability Rights Arkansas. “Her passion for helping individuals with hearing loss is truly inspirational.” Wolfe was born in Dermott, Arkansas, in 1957. She graduated from St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio, Texas, in 1975, and graduated from Millsaps College with a degree in history. With an avid interest in public health, Wolfe later earned a Master of Science from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences joint audiology program and a Doctor of Audiology from the University of Florida. Wolfe worked as the photo editor for Norman Vincent Peale’s Guideposts Magazine in New York. She also was the infant hearing supervisor at the Arkansas Department of Health and has worked at the Arkansas School for the Deaf for the past 24 years. She is a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and is the widow of Townsend Durant Wolfe III, former executive director and chief curator of the Arkansas Arts Center. In 2017, Wolfe began a foundation in honor of her late husband – Townsend and Brooks Wolfe Charitable Hearing Fund, through the Arkansas Community Foundation. The 2018 Jazz and Juleps scholarship winners will be recognized, including Meredith Birginske, Shavari Bharambe, Maddie Droke, Dayton Hendricks, Jared Holt, Beverly McDowell, Alexa Milam, Anna Norwood, Emily Pankey, Danielle Peterson, Megan Stuckey, Kristyn Wethington, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock would like to thank the following sponsors. Gold sponsors – KLRE/K��Vlog��ýR Public Radio, Lost Forty Brewing, Magna IV Communications, Remmell Dickinson, Nan Ellen and Jack Easter, Beth and Paul Eaton, and Polly and Jeff Yant. Silver sponsors – Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Big Red, Regions Trust, James Rippy, Cathy and Jeff Shaneyfelt, and Loris and Jay Fullerton. Bronze sponsors – Arkansas School for the Death, Bailey Foundation, Tri-Lakes Liquor in Hot Springs, Ann and Jim Bain, Derek Boyce, Charlotte and Curt Bradbury, Peggy and Haskell Dickinson, Merritt Dyke, Jennifer and Tim Fisk, Delda Hoaglan, Blake Jackson, Edward Jackson, Pam and Lee Butler Jackson, Hope Keiser, Elizabeth and Arnold Mayersohn, Mary Moore, and Brooks Gibson Wolfe. Tickets for Jazz and Juleps are $50, of which $25 is tax deductible, and will be available at the door. Tickets also can be ordered online. For more information, contact Derek Boyce, director of development for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, at 501-683-7355 or dcboyce@ualr.edu.

Brooks Gibson Wolfe selected as Jazz and Juleps honoree

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 16:00:00 +0000

An educational audiologist who has dedicated her life to helping the deaf and hard of hearing in Arkansas for more than 26 years has been selected as the honoree for the ninth annual Jazz and Juleps event supporting the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. The event, which celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month, will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, at the Clinton Presidential Library, 1200 President Clinton Ave. in downtown Little Rock. The festivities will include a silent auction with food and refreshments. Mint juleps, beer, wine, soda, and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. The honoree, Brooks Gibson Wolfe (Mrs. Townsend D. Wolfe III), is the senior audiologist at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, where she has worked for 24 years. She is responsible for ensuring that students’ personal and group amplification devices are working properly, conducting audiological evaluations, and fitting all amplification devices. “Brooks Gibson Wolfe was chosen for this honor to highlight her work with children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their parents, and with a focus on those who are underprivileged and underserved,” said Nan Ellen East, retired executive director of Disability Rights Arkansas. ”Her passion helping individuals with hearing loss is truly inspirational.” All proceeds from the event will be used to create an endowed scholarship fund in Wolfe’s name to assist future students in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. After graduating from Millsaps College, Wolfe worked as the photo editor for Norman Vincent Peale’s Guideposts Magazine in New York. She returned home to Arkansas shortly after her brother, Sam, died. “My passion is to advocate for people who are deaf or hard of hearing,” Wolfe said. “It became my passion because I lost my brother at the age of 28. He was a great guy. I serve the underserved in honor of him and my late husband, Townsend Wolfe III (former executive director and chief curator of the Arkansas Arts Center).” With an avid interest in public health, Wolfe earned a Master of Science degree from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences joint audiology program and Doctor of Audiology from the University of Florida. She began her audiology career as the infant hearing supervisor at the Arkansas Department of Health. “I wanted to work with children,” she said. “The earlier you can get to the children, the greater impact you have on their lives.” Throughout her career, Wolfe has also helped many people get hearing aids who could not afford them. She has worked with the, which has a mission to improve the quality of life for those at risk or impacted by hearing loss through education and support. Last year, Wolfe began a foundation in honor of her late husband – Townsend and Brooks Wolfe Charitable Hearing Fund, through the Arkansas Community Foundation – to continue her efforts to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Through this Charitable Fund, she and two additional audiologists – Dr. Hope Keiser and Dr. Pat Highley – help nursing home residents, adults with low incomes, and students at Little Rock Preparatory Academy by providing counseling and fitting for amplification devices pro bono. “The nursing home population is huge in Arkansas,” she said. “Most of them are on Medicare, and Medicare does not pay for amplification for adults. So there are many nursing home residents that need amplification but cannot afford them.” Wolfe has four stepchildren, Juliette Hightower, Mary Bryan Giroux, Zibilla Wolfe, and Townsend Wolfe IV, and three grandchildren, Thomas Hightower, Drake Kennedy, and Reid Hightower, who plans to follow in her grandmother’s steps and become an audiologist. She also is a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Tickets are $50, of which $25 is tax deductible, and will be available at the door. Tickets also can be ordered online. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Derek Boyce, director of development for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, at 501-683-7355 or dcboyce@ualr.edu.

Event raises nearly $55k for audiology and speech pathology students; recent grad gets unexpected surprise

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 15:27:34 +0000

The eighth annual Jazz and Juleps event raised more than $54,000 for audiology and speech pathology students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The May 25 event, which was held at the Clinton Presidential Center, honored Cassandra Steele, director of special programs for the and a 1988 graduate of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. All funds raised from the event will go toward an endowed scholarship fund in Steele’s name. In her role at Little Rock School District, Steele oversees nearly 60 speech pathologists and more than 200 special education teachers. They provide services to about 2,700 students who receive special education lessons within the district. During her speech, Steele gave one recent graduate of the joint ��Vlog��ý Little Rock-University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences audiology and speech pathology graduate program the surprise of a lifetime.

Cassandra Steele (left) celebrates Madison White’s (right) acceptance of a job offer as a speech-language pathologist with the Little Rock School District. Photo by Nelson Cheanault.

During the 2016-17 academic year, Steele helped establish a partnership in which 10 audiology and speech pathology graduate students from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and ��Vlog��ýMS earned professional experience and stipends by serving as interns with Little Rock School District. Steele asked one of the interns, Madison White, to come to the stage during Jazz and Juleps. Believing that she was there to tell the crowd about her experiences as an intern, White was quite surprised when Steele offered her a job as a speech-language pathologist with Little Rock School District. “As I walked to the front and stood next to her, I was thinking about what I would say about my intern experience,” White said. “So I was completely caught off guard when she offered me a job. I was overwhelmed by the immediate amount of support and encouragement I received from everyone at the event, and I was so flattered that she would honor me in that way during her speech as the event honoree.” After congratulating White, Steele encouraged ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumni to find ways to give back. “When you graduate from the department, you know that you are equipped to be the best in the profession,” Steele said. “As you delve into life after school, never pass on an opportunity to teach, mentor, or to serve. Together, we can accomplish so much for those with speech and hearing difficulties.” In the upper right photo, celebrity auctioneer Craig O’Neill takes pictures with the upbeat crowd at the 8th annual Jazz and Juleps event at the Clinton Presidential Center. Photo by Nelson Chenault.

Cassandra Steele to be honored at 2017 Jazz & Juleps

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 08:28:40 +0000

An educator devoted to improving the lives of special education students in Little Rock will be the guest of honor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock eighth annual Jazz & Juleps event. The Thursday, May 25, event, which celebrates Better Speech and Hearing Month, will be held at the Clinton Presidential Library in downtown Little Rock. Doors open at 6 p.m. There will be a silent auction and a live auction will begin at 7:30 p.m. Craig O’Neill of KTHV will serve as the special guest auctioneer. The honoree, Cassandra Steele, is the director of special programs for the, where she previously held the position of coordinator of speech and hearing services for 14 years. “It’s exciting to be honored, but I consider myself more of a behind-the-scenes person,” Steele said. “The things I have accomplished for children with hearing and speech-language disorders are very rewarding, but it’s not something for which I seek credit out front. I enjoy seeing the improvement in communicative skills and partnering with parents and individuals in the community to better lives for children with hearing and speech disorders.” In her role at Little Rock School District, Steele oversees nearly 60 speech pathologists and more than 200 special education teachers who work with the more than 2,700 students who receive special education lessons within the district. “My job is one of those jobs that touches the lives of so many different people from all backgrounds,” she said. “It just crosses all cultures, all socioeconomic backgrounds. Serving children and serving people with disabilities is one of those things that you just love.” Among her accomplishments is the formation of a parent advisory committee to help guide professional development for teachers and to serve as a resource for parents of children with disabilities. She also formed a partnership with educators from Japan to facilitate a learning environment for Japanese students with disabilities. In the higher education arena, she helped establish a partnership that started during the 2016-17 school year that allows 10 audiology and speech pathology graduate students from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to earn practical experience and stipends by working with students in Little Rock School District. All proceeds from the event will be used to create an endowed scholarship fund in Steele’s name to assist future students in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. Steele, who graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 1988, was previously recognized as the 2014 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Alumni of the Year for the College of Education and Health Professions for her outstanding service on the Audiology and Speech Pathology Development Council. She is the first graduate of the audiology and speech pathology department to be named the Jazz & Juleps honoree. Tickets are $50, of which $30 is tax deductible, and will be available at the door. Tickets also can be ordered online. Sponsorships are available. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Kristi Smith, senior director of development for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Office of Alumni and Development, at klsmith4@ualr.edu or 501.569.8739. More about Cassandra Steele: Steele graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in 1984. She next earned a master’s degree in audiology and speech pathology from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock in 1988. Steele is currently working toward the education specialist certificate in educational administration and supervision. Steele and her husband, former state Sen. Tracy Steele, live in North Little Rock and have two children. Their daughter, Sumone, is a sophomore at Tennessee State University and their son, Tracy, is an eighth-grader at North Little Rock Middle School. She belongs to multiple organizations whose missions encourage quality of life and leadership, including the local chapter of the American Heart Association, Greater Little Rock Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, the Council for Exceptional Children, and the American Speech-Language & Hearing Association.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Jazz and Juleps will celebrate Brooks Gibson Wolfe May 24

Brooks Gibson Wolfe selected as Jazz and Juleps honoree

Event raises nearly $55k for audiology and speech pathology students; recent grad gets unexpected surprise

Cassandra Steele to be honored at 2017 Jazz & Juleps

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock