Communicative disorders professor to retire

A School of Communicative Disorders professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is proud to be honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Wisconsin Speech, Language and Hearing Association.

But the highlight of Bob Balas’ career came when he was honored by his own students at the school’s recent annual awards ceremony. Senior Nicole Kapellen, president of the UWSP Student Speech and Hearing Association, spoke about how Balas has been such an excellent role model for communicative disorders students.

"Through the four years I have known him," she said, "Dr. Balas has shown genuine care and concern for his students and he is very passionate about his field. His door is always open and he’s someone on whom we can depend."

"It really moved me," Balas said, who will retire in June after 24 years at UWSP. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in audiology and sign language, he has served as an associate dean and head of the School of Communicative Disorders as well as the school’s coordinator of academic advising.

"With all my years in the field as both a clinician and teacher, this position as an adviser has been my most rewarding experience in academia," he said. "Interacting with students has been great. I’ve apparently made an impact on them, but they’ve also made an impact on me."

He’ll miss the one-to-one contact with students, he said, which leads to mixed feelings about retirement. Balas also will miss the fine faculty and staff, people that have been a great asset to both the school and the university.

"Working on many university committees gave me a chance to interact with other faculty and staff on campus," he said. "There are a myriad of hardworking people here and collaborating with them has made my experiences very worthwhile."

Balas also is proud of his recent work facilitating the review and revision of the curriculum of the school’s undergraduate and graduate programs. Completing that was a major milestone and his legacy to the school.

A native of Massachusetts, Balas was drawn to UWSP in 1976 to return to the Midwest, where he attended college and his wife has family. He has enjoyed spending his free time at a cottage in northern Wisconsin and hopes to spend even more time there during his retirement. Balas plans to enjoy hunting with his son as well as frequent visits with his daughter and three grandchildren.

Balas and his wife, Marlene, a Stevens Point junior high school teacher who retired at the end of the school year, are planning to travel across the United States and Europe, while keeping a home base in Stevens Point.

Other retirement plans include working with retired UWSP history professor David Wrone to publish a true Menominee Indian children’s story. Balas also hopes to work with Wrone to develop a book about the tribe’s sign language, which has never been written down but is used still today in places such as the Menominee lumber mill.

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