Fred H. Bess, Ph.D., serves on the Vanderbilt University faculty as Professor of Audiology in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences. He is also the Director of the National Center for Childhood Deafness and Family Communication. Dr. Bess received his Bachelors of Science in 1962 at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and earned his Masters of Science in 1964 at Vanderbilt. He later received his Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan in 1970. In 1969 he initiated and directed the Audiology Program at Central Michigan University, where he remained until joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1976. He served as Chair of the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences from 1978 until 2009. The Department grants Masters and Doctoral degrees in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. He is the author of well over a hundred journal articles, book chapters, monographs and books dealing with hearing and hearing impairment. Also numbering over one hundred are professional papers presented at scholarly meetings throughout the country. He has been principal investigator or project director for several million dollars in privately and federally funded research, training and demonstration grants. In addition, Dr. Bess has served as chairperson for seven symposia, which attracted international participation. Dr. Bess also holds membership in several professional and learned societies.