By William H. Kelly III
(JACKSON, Miss.) — The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) elects Jackson State University’s (JSU) Brandi L. Newkirk-Turner, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, as a 2026 ASHA Fellow for her outstanding contributions and professional achievements in the field of communication sciences and disorders. Fellowship is a career-long designation and one of the highest forms of recognition presented by ASHA.
“I am profoundly grateful to my nominators, my mentors, and the dedicated speech-language pathology professionals and students I have the privilege of working alongside every day,” said Newkirk-Turner, who serves as senior associate provost in the Office of the Provost and a professor of speech-language pathology in the College of Health Sciences (COHS) at JSU.
“To have my career’s work recognized by ASHA and to be named a Fellow is deeply validating; peer-reviewed, national-level recognition is an undeniable marker of true contribution and enduring impact.”
Newkirk-Turner was elected based on three areas of performance as outlined by ASHA: Clinical Education and Academic Teaching, Research, and Administrative Service.
Throughout her career, the tenured professor has secured over $4 million dollars in U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs Personnel Preparation Grants, and served over 11 years as the chairperson of the Department of Communicative Disorders at JSU, and the graduate program director in the speech-language pathology program. Some professional contributions include publications and research in areas such as African-American English, cultural linguistic issues, public health, and teaching and learning in speech-language pathology.
“I congratulate Dr. Newkirk-Turner on this prestigious recognition from her discipline-specific world of colleagues. In addition, I applaud her focus on ‘silencing the noise’ around her in order to continue her productivity in publications and grantsmanship and her financial support of students across the university, which is yielded from this continuous and important work,” said Preselfannie McDaniels, Ph.D., provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
Additionally, Newkirk-Turner established innovative clinical learning environments, including JSU’s Wellness on Wheels: Health Communication and Hearing Mobile Lab, and Thee Interdisciplinary Public Health Experiential Lab, which serves as a high-tech space to integrate speech-language pathology, audiology, and public health curricula through simulated, skills-based learning.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 247,000 members, certificate holders, and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology assistants; and students. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) identify, assess, and treat speech, language, and swallowing disorders.
“I have always maintained that serving as a university administrator does not have to come at the cost of high-quality academic engagement. To that end, I am incredibly proud that ASHA recognized that even with my administrative responsibilities within the Office of the Provost, I was able to silence the noise, remain focused, deeply connected, active, and productive in my field of study, which has always been my first love,” said Newkirk-Turner.
2026 award recipients will be formally recognized with a presentation at the ASHA awards ceremony on Friday, November 20, 2026, at the ASHA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.
###
Media Contact: William H. Kelly III, william.h.kelly@jsums.edu