FACULTY PROFILE
I currently serve as Dean of the College of Health and Human
Services, overseeing seven academic departments. By discipline, I am a certified
speech-language pathologist with an active interest in research related to
treatment of children with developmental language disorders. I have been at GovState for over 25 years,
starting as an assistant professor in the Department of Communication
Disorders, and now hold the rank of full professor.
Although my roles and experiences have varied since
beginning a career in higher education, I have been consistently dedicated to
improving the quality of services provided – whether to patients/clients,
students, faculty, or community. I am proud of our programs, faculty, and
students – all making a difference in the lives of the people in our region.
GovState combines a dynamic environment with a unique
mission. The institution’s commitment to civic engagement and serving the needs
of the surrounding community make it a very satisfying place to work. I am
continually inspired by our committed students and my creative, energetic
colleagues.
Researchgate Profile
Education
Ph.D., Speech-Language
Pathology, Indiana University
M.A., Speech-Language
Pathology, Indiana University
B.A., Linguistics with
Honors, University of Iowa
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Balthazar, C.H., and
Scott, C.M. (2023). Sentences are Key: Helping School-age Students Build
Sentence Skills Needed for Real Language.
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (special forum on
treatment of developmental language disorders).
Balthazar, C.H., and Vendrely, A.M.(2021, Eds.). Rehabilitation
Research, 6th Edition. Elsevier.
Balthazar, C.H., Ebbels, S.E., and Zwitserlood, R.M. (2020).
Syntactic intervention for developmental language disorder. Language,
Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51, 226-246.
HONORS
Association of Schools Advancing Health
Professions (2024)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award
Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2019)
Fellow
Alpha Eta Honor Society / Gamma Psi Upsilon Chapter
Founding member
Governors State University
Faculty Excellence Award
Credentials and Affiliations
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Certificate of Clinical
Competence, Speech-Language Pathology
Association of Schools Advancing Health
Professions
Institutional Member
College of Health
Deans
Vice President
Chicago Southland
Chamber of Commerce
Member
Illinois Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation
Licensed Speech-Language
Pathologist
Speech-Language Pathology and
Audiology Board Member
Illinois
Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Member
Will County MAPP Collaborative
Executive Board
Member; “Mobilizing Action through Planning and Partnership” community
collaboration with Will County Department of Public Health
GRANTS AND AWARDS
Stroke Awareness
Campaign (2023-2024)
Illinois Department
of Public Health, with funds associated with Illinois Public Act 102-102-1070
1 year/$1,000,000
Project Director. The goal of the stroke education and awareness campaign was to improve public
awareness and understanding of stroke with a focus on stroke prevention,
symptom awareness, and the needs of stroke survivors.
Illinois Precision Medicine Consortium (IPMC) All of Us
Research Program Site (awarded 2023-2028; program discontinued 2024)
National Institutes of Health, 5 years/$199,710
Multiple Principal Investigator. The All of Us
Research Program (AoURP) directive, leadership, framework, and protocol were
conceived to create opportunities to improve health care through research. Governors State University joined the IPMC
and received a subaward from the University of Chicago to engage diverse
communities in the Chicago Southland as participants. AoURP’s national goal is to generate a 1
million participant cohort for precision health, creating unprecedented
opportunities for novel scientific discovery, and achieving the NIH Precision
Medicine Initiative’s ultimate vision of bettering the health of the US
population through improved risk prediction and prevention, diagnostics, and
therapies.
The GUIDE Project (2015-2019)
Award
#1P20CA202907-01, National Cancer Institute, 4 years/$716,000
Principal Investigator. The GUIDE (GSU-UICC-Disparities-Education)
Cancer Research Training Project was a collaborative initiative between
Governors State University (GSU) and the University of Illinois Cancer Center
(UICC). The project was developed to enhance the capacity of both institutions
to conduct research to understand and reduce local cancer disparities and their
determinants. The institutions jointly conducted a pilot research project
addressing a local, cancer-related health disparity and developed a training
program for GSU early stage investigators and undergraduate students designed
to attract and prepare investigators for careers in cancer disparities
research. The training and education program leveraged research expertise in
cancer-related health inequities at UICC and incorporated successful elements
of research training programs developed at GSU and the University of Illinois
at Chicago (UIC). The pilot research project was integrated with training
activities. We provided an integrated cancer research training and career
development experience for nine early stage Investigators in the GSU College of
Health and Human Services, and created a summer research experience at UICC for
16 GSU undergraduate students interested in pursuing health disparities
research.
Building Complex Language (2010-2013)
Award #
R15DC011165-01, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative
Disorders, 3 years/$418,000
Principal Investigator. This investigation of treatment for specific
higher-level language skills in older school-age students addressed a scarcity
of controlled research in this area. The objective was to examine outcomes of a
treatment designed to increase functional use of complex (multi-clausal)
sentences in school-age students with primary language impairments that impact
literacy and academic achievement. This early clinical efficacy study enrolled
ten participants per year over three years, randomly assigned to one of two
dosage levels. Treatment efficacy and effect size were measured using a
multiple-baseline single-subject design. Overall effect size and impact of
dosage were evaluated using a pretest-posttest group design, and correlations
between participant characteristics and individual patterns of performance were
described and analyzed.
Clinical Research Grant (2009-2010)
American
Speech-Language Hearing Foundation, 1 year/$50,000
Advancing Academic Research Careers Award (2004)
American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association/$5000