Faculty and Staff
Back to the Full Directory

Biography

Academic and Administrative Appointments – University of Central Florida

  • Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Excellence (2024 – )
  • Associate Dean of Research (2108 – )
  • Pegasus Professor (2023 – )
  • Professor (Full; Tenured) (2015 – Present)
  • Founder & Director (2005 – Present)
    • FAAST Atlantic Region Assistive Technology Demonstration Center
  • Faculty Excellence Coordinator (2016-2017)
    • UCF Office of Faculty Excellence
  • Associate Professor (Tenured) (2009 – 2015)
    • Communication Sciences and Disorders
  • Assistant Professor (Tenure Earning) (2003 – 2009)
    • Communication Sciences and Disorders

Selected Awards, Honors

  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
    • Fellow
    • Award for Special Contributions in Higher Education
  • Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
    • Honors of the Association
  • University of Central Florida
    • Inaugural Luminary Award
    • Inaugural Marchioli Collective Impact Award
    • Scroll & Quill Society Inductee
    • Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award
    • Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award
    • Excellence in Research Award
    • Excellence in Professional Service
    • Research Incentive Award (RIA)
    • Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) Award
    • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) Award

Licensure & Certification

  • Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (2003)
    • American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA)
  • Speech-Language Pathologist State License (2003)
    • State of Florida Department of Health, Division of Medical Quality Assurance
  • Clinical Certificate in Speech-Language Pathology (2000)
    • Speech-Language & Audiology Canada
  • Advanced Teacher’s Certificate (ATC3) (2000)
    • Department of Education; Halifax, NS, Canada
  • Teacher’s Certificate Class 5 (TC5) (1997)
    • Department of Education; Halifax, NS, Canada

Credentials

  • BEd, Bachelor of Education, Secondary English & Mathematics, McGill University
  • MS, Master of Science, Human Communication Disorders, Dalhousie University
  • Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy, Communication Sciences & Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University
  • CCC-SLP, Certificate of Clinical Competence for Speech-Language Pathologists
  • S-LP(C), Certified Speech-Language Pathologist

Affiliations

  • ASHA Fellow

Research

Research Interests
  • Developing and evaluating interventions designed to improve language and communication outcomes for children with developmental disabilities who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
  • Developing and evaluating service-learning instructional approaches in communication sciences and disorders (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning).
Areas of Specialty
  • Language Disorders
  • Augmentative and Alternative Communication
  • Assistive Technology
  • Service-Learning / Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Research Lab Affiliations

Research Grants

Dean's Office

Measuring Aided Language Development

  • PI: Jennifer Kent-Walsh
  • PI: Cathy Binger (UNM)
  • Co-PI: John Heilmann (UWM)
    • Amount: $3,039,426 | Timeframe: 04/01/2024 - 03/01/2029
    Funding Type: Extramural Research
    Funding Agency: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
    Dean's Office

    Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology (FAAST) 2023-2024

  • PI: Jennifer Kent-Walsh
    • Amount: $107,191 | Timeframe: 10/01/2023 - 09/01/2024
    Funding Type: Extramural Research
    Funding Agency: Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, Inc.
    Dean's Office

    FAAST Regional Demonstration Center Expanding the Public Health Workforce Contract

  • PI: Jennifer Kent-Walsh
    • Amount: $11,342 | Timeframe: 10/01/2022 - 09/30/2023
    Funding Type: Extramural Research
    Funding Agency: Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, Inc (FAAST)
    Dean's Office

    Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, Inc (FAAST) 2022-2023

  • PI: Jennifer Kent-Walsh
    • Amount: $107,191 | Timeframe: 10/01/2022 - 09/30/2023
    Funding Type: Extramural Research
    Funding Agency: Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, Inc (FAAST)
    Dean's Office

    FAAST Atlantic Region Assistive Technology Demonstration Center

  • PI: Jennifer Kent-Walsh
    • Amount: $78,833 | Timeframe: 10/01/2021 - 09/30/2022
    Funding Type: Extramural Research
    Funding Agency: Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology
    Communication Sciences and Disorders

    Word by Word: Building Sentences with Preschoolers Who Use AAC

  • PI: Jennifer Kent-Walsh
    • Amount: $1,623,136 | Timeframe: 07/07/2017 - 06/30/2022
    Funding Type: Extramural Research
    Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) [Part of a five-year, $2,781,276 Multiple Principal Investigator Grant with Cathy Binger, Ph.D., at the University of New Mexico]
    Communication Sciences and Disorders

    Teaching Preschoolers with Complex Communication Needs to Ask Inverted Yes-No Questions Using an AAC iPad Application

  • PI: Jennifer Kent-Walsh
    • Amount: $437,812 | Timeframe: 12/01/2015 - 11/30/2019
    Funding Type: Extramural Research
    Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
    Communication Sciences and Disorders

    FAAST Atlantic Region Assistive Technology Demonstration Center

  • PI: Jennifer Kent-Walsh
    • Amount: $2,265,001 | Timeframe: 10/01/2005 - 09/30/2019
    Funding Type: Extramural Research
    Funding Agency: Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology

    Courses

  • SPA 4400: Language Disorders Across the Lifespan

  • SPA 4559: Augmentative and Alternative Communication

  • SPA 4580: Augmentative and Alternative Communication

  • SPA 4903: Honors Directed Readings

  • SPA 4932: Special Topics: Augmentative and Alternative

  • SPA 4970: Honors Thesis

  • EEX 6908: Independent Study: Doctoral Teaching & Research Experience

  • SPA 7490: Advanced Topics in Language and Literacy

  • IDS 7500: Seminar in Educational Research

  • SPA 7494: Doctoral Seminar in Spoken & Written Language

  • SPA 7980: Dissertation

  • SPA 6437: Communication Foundations, Assistive/Instructional

  • SPA 6559: Augmentative and Alternative Communication

  • SPA 6805: Research Design

  • SPA 6908: Independent Study: Augmentative and Alternative

  • SPA 6938: Special Topics: Assistive Technology

  • SPA 6971: Thesis

    • News

  • Leveraging the Power of Language Through Assistive Technology

     Written By: Robert Stephens | April 15, 2024
    Decades-long research from a team led by Pegasus Professor Jennifer Kent-Walsh has already assisted thousands of children struggling to communicate. A historic grant will now allow them to reach immeasurably...

  • Awardees Announced for 2023 Founders’ Day Faculty Honors Celebration

     Written By: Joe Adams | March 31, 2023
    UCF’s annual marquee event for faculty on April 5 highlights outstanding teaching, advising, mentoring, research, professional service and librarianship.

  • Meet UCF’s 4 Pegasus Professors for 2023

     Written By: Robert Stephens | March 30, 2023
    Stephen Fiore, Jane Gibson, Jennifer Kent-Walsh and Marianna Pensky are the newest recipients of the university’s highest faculty honor.

  • CSD Faculty, Students and Alumni Present at Annual ASHA Convention in Washington, D.C.

     Written By: Drexler B. James'13 | November 4, 2021
    Faculty, students and alumni from the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders will participate in this year’s ASHA Convention, both in-person and virtually, from Nov. 18-20 in Washington, D.C. Experts from around the country will share research,...

  • Speaker Event Showcased AAC in Rehabilitation

     Written By: Drexler B. James'13 | October 20, 2021
    Guest speaker and occupational therapist Michael Braun from Brooks Rehabilitation joined via hologram an expert panel convened at the CHPS Innovation Center on Oct. 18 in celebration of International AAC...
    • Gift box icon

    GIVE A GIFT

    To help fund student scholarships, faculty excellence and innovative programming.
    Support UCF