In Memoriam: Anna Fay Vaughn-Cooke

The field of Communication Sciences and Disorders has lost a giant in the professions of linguistics and speech-language pathology with the passing of Anna Fay Vaughn-Cooke on October 20, 2010. During her career, Dr. Vaughn-Cooke served as an assistant professor in the Department of Speech (currently Communication Sciences and Disorders) at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her other university positions included that of professor and chair of the Department of Languages and Communication Disorders at the University of the District of Columbia from 1973–1997; associate provost and dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at Florida A&M University; vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, vice chancellor at UMD Eastern Shore, and dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at Florida A&M University. She also has served as a board member for the Center for Applied Linguistics with leading linguists, sociolinguistics, and scientists, helping to address key academic and clinical issues.

Dr. Vaughn-Cooke received her bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Missouri in 1968, her master's of science degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Maryland in 1970, and both her master's and PhD degrees in linguistics from Georgetown University in 1976. She became a prolific scholar in the field of linguistics, with seminal studies on language acquisition of African-American children. Dr. Vaughn-Cooke's expertise in this area and Ebonics made her an influential contributor to the national debate on the language diversity of African Americans.

She was a Fulbright Scholar and received numerous national awards for her scholarly contributions and academic leadership, including that of Fellow of the American Speech-Hearing-Language Association (ASHA), the second highest honor awarded by this professional organization. As a Fulbright Scholar, she taught at the National University of Benin in West Africa. Her travels to Benin and other countries in Africa served to renew her passion for working to improve our understanding of language diversity.

Moreover, she was a trailblazer through her pioneering research on African-American English (AAE) varieties. Dr. Vaughn-Cooke's early work on the rural Southern origins of African-American Language helped launch the recognition of the essential role of this dialectal variety of English having a lasting effect on both the fields of linguistics and communication sciences and disorders. Later in her career through her cutting edge study on the language of African American children with Dr. Ida J. Stockman, she created the most extensive longitudinal data base on the language development of African American English speaking children to date leading to groundbreaking research on this often understudied population.

Dr. Anna Fay Vaughn-Cooke was an untiring champion for African American children and through her research on this population has helped to change the assessment paradigm in the field of speech and language pathology for children who are speakers of AAE and other nonmainstream dialects of English. As a member of the National Black Association for Speech, Language and Hearing, she was frequently called upon to serve on panels and participate in debates on issues such as "Dialect versus Disorder" and the "Impact of the Ann Arbor Decision on instruction of African American English speaking children."

During her life she had a stellar track record of grant writing beginning during the early stages of her career at the University of the District of Columbia culminating at Florida A&M University in 2010. While at UDC, she mentored over 60 graduate students with her colleague Dr. Wilhelmina Wright-Harp on a series research training projects funded by the National Institutes of Health MBRS Minority Biomedical Research and Science Grants. Participants on these projects worked on segments of the longitudinal database on African American children ranging in age from 18 months to 4½ years. Participants gained valuable research experience and presented their research at professional meetings of ASHA and NBASLH. In fact, Dr. Vaughn-Cooke's students were often recognized as being among the best presenters at the NBASLH Student Forum each year.

As an MBRS Project Director, she served as an advocate for minority researchers by mentoring them through the grant writing process and implementation stages of funded grants as well as serving as a spokesperson with federal agencies dramatically increasing funding for early-career scientists at both UDC and Florida A & M University. In addition, she taught numerous students at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the field of communication sciences and disorders who have now become leaders in the field due in large part to her dedication to the profession.

In the latter part of her career, Dr. Vaughn-Cooke entered the realm of administration. First serving as Chair of the Department of Languages and Communication Disorders at the University of the District of Columbia from 1991–1997; then serving as Associate Provost and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research at Florida A&M University. Her next appointment was that of Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.

Anna Fay Boyd, the daughter of farmers, was born in Turrell, Arkansas, on Jan. 5, 1947. She often attributed her work ethic to her family and childhood experiences on the family farm in Arkansas. She is survived by her husband of 39 years, Denys Vaughn-Cooke of Washington, DC; two children, Dr. Anika Vaughn-Cooke of Philadelphia and Hamilton Vaughn-Cooke of Washington, DC; two grandsons, Che' and Marley Ewell; two brothers and three sisters.

In conclusion, Dr. Anna Fay Vaughn-Cooke was a pioneer in a multitude of areas encompassing teaching, research and administration with an untiring commitment, passion and grace that have left a lasting impression on the world. The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Howard University pays tribute to Dr. Anna Fay Vaughn-Cooke for her lifetime of unwavering dedication, research and service to promoting greater recognition of African Americans as well as individuals from diverse populations in the greater U.S. society and the world.

References 

Viewed on 10-27-10 http://guyanafriends.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/431601562/m/26520097841

Anna Fay Vaughn-Cooke Obituary, the Washington Post Obituaries (10-24-10 to 10-27-10).

Viewed on 10-27-10 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=anna-f-vaughn-cooke&pid=146170432&fhid=4278

Viewed on 10-27-10 http://africanamericanenglish.com/2010/10/27/in-remembrance-dr-a-fay-vaughn-cooke/