Distinguished professorship first in College of Allied Health Sciences

Dr. Marianna Walker has been named recipient of the Barbara W. Bremer Distinguished Professorship in Language Learning and Literacy Disorders in East Carolina University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. It is the first distinguished professorship in the College of Allied Health Sciences.

Barbara Bremer, a speech language pathologist, and Dr. Chris Bremer, professor emeritus of family medicine in the Brody School of Medicine, established the professorship to focus on research and education concerning school-aged language learning and literacy disorders and how they are related. Barbara Bremer earned her master’s degree in speech language pathology from ECU.

As the Bremer professor, Walker will promote interdisciplinary teaching between the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and the Brody School of Medicine. Walker is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She serves on the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Speech & Language Pathologists and Audiologists and is a fellow of the American Speech Hearing and Language Association.

Walker received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech language and auditory pathology from ECU. She earned her doctoral degree in literacy and language from North Carolina State University. She has been on the faculty in the ECU Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders for 20 years. Her research interests include child language and literacy disorders, language learning disabilities, and language and reading sciences.