Faculty and Staff

Dr. Kenneth Cox is a Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders and an Audiologist. He currently serves as Dean of Waldron College of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Diane Millar is a Full Professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Radford University. She received her Master’s and Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University. Her clinical research areas include Augmentative and Alternative Communication and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Most recently, she has been researching the effectiveness of nonverbal communication behaviors and intervention strategies that may improve the communicative competence of adolescents and adults. Her interests also include diversity, equity, and culturally responsive methods of teaching and clinical service delivery.

Dr. Millar teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in speech sound development and disorders, augmentative and alternative communication, and autism spectrum disorder in the department and UNIV 100 for the university. In addition, she serves as the Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Chair of the department.

Dr. Corey Cassidy is a Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Academic Success Center.

Ms. Rebecca Epperly is a Senior Instructor and the Clinical Director in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.  She received her master's degree from East Tennessee State University and her baccalaureate degree from Radford University. She has over 20 years of experience working in a variety of clinical settings such as the public schools, early intervention, outpatient programs, and both pediatric and adult acute rehabilitation hospitals. 

In addition to being the Clinical Director of the Radford University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic (RUSLHC), she is one of the founding co-directors of the Radford University Brain Injury (RUBI) Center and co-coordinator of fieldwork placements for the department.  She supervises in the RUSLHC and teaches first- and second-year graduate students in the Advanced Practicum: Speech, Language, Hearing course.  She is also the co-leader of the New River Valley Brain Injury Support Group.  Her areas of focus are in neurogenic rehabilitation, quality of life for brain injury survivors, and clinical education and supervision of students. 

Dr. Lauren Flora is an Associate Professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Radford University. Additionally, she serves as the Graduate Program Director for the department. She is a licensed audiologist and provides hearing-related services in the Radford University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic located in Waldron Hall. Her research interests include vestibular-occular reflex assessment in athletes, auditory processing deficits, and use of smart technology in pediatric hearing assessment.

Dr. Flora teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses related to audiological evaluation and rehabilitation, research methods, language science, and speech science. She also supervises first-year graduate student clinicians in an audiology clinic rotation each semester.

Ms. Rachel Greene is an Instructor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. In this role she supervises graduate students in the Radford University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. Ms. Greene has over 15 years’ experience as a practicing speech-language pathologist. She has experience working in private practice, outpatient facilities, non-profit sector organizations, home health, and skilled nursing facilities.  

Ms. Greene holds certifications as a VitalStim® provider, Early Intervention Professional, PROMPT, Compton Phonological ESL Accent Modification Certification, and SPEAK OUT!® A Practical Approach to Treating Parkinson's disease. She enjoys working with all ages and in a variety of treatment areas.  Ms. Greene has special interests in treating literary, voice, and cognitive deficits.

Ms. Elizabeth Laux is an Instructor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Radford University. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Radford University. Her clinical interests include fluency disorders, speech sound disorders and language disorders. She enjoys early intervention with close collaboration with families. She also enjoys working with clients with autism spectrum disorder by establishing communication methods for non-verbal clients as well as working on higher level pragmatic skills with adolescent clients. She has worked with both children and adults but currently focuses on pediatrics. She has clinical experience in private practice (which involved contract work at an in-patient brain injury clinic and as an early-interventionist) and is now a clinical supervisor in the on-campus clinic.

Dr. Chia-Ming (Abel) Lei is an Assistant Professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. He received his bachelor of arts in Foreign Languages and Literature from the National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. He moved to the United States to become a speech-language pathologist and received his master’s degree at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, MA. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He has clinical experience in skilled nursing facilities with adult clients who have acquired neurogenic disorders, including aphasia, motor speech disorders, and dysphagia.

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses related to aphasia, motor speech, dysphagia, and anatomy and physiology. Dr. Lei has research interests in aphasia, melodic intonation therapy, and hemispheric lateralization of language processing 

Dr. Michelle Lenhart is an Assistant Professor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Radford University. She received her Ph.D. in Communication Disorders and Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology from James Madison University and her bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia in both Speech Communication Disorders and French. Her research interests include school-age and adolescent language and literacy, school-based issues, and syntax and morphology.

Dr. Lenhart teaches courses related to child language development and disorders, assessment and intervention methods, and stuttering. In addition, she supervises graduate clinicians in the on-campus clinic.

Ms. Terri Shelor is a Senior Instructor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Radford University.  She received both her baccalaureate and  master's degrees from Radford University.  She was a full time practicing SLP for 14 years working in inpatient rehabilitation, acute care, outpatient, and home health settings. Once joining the faculty at Radford University, she continued working PRN at Lewis Gale Montgomery Hospital, covering acute care and outpatient through 2020. Ms. Shelor is the co-leader of the New River Valley Brain Injury Support Group and founding co-director of the Radford University Brain Injury (RUBI) Center.  Her research interests include aphasia treatment, voice therapy, and examining the quality of life in individuals after brain injury. 

She currently teaches courses related to voice and resonance disorders and neuroanatomy. She supervises in the Radford University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic and is the co-coordinator of fieldwork placements for the department. 

Ms. Diane Shepard is an Instructor in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Radford University. She earned her bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech in psychology  and her master's degree in speech-language pathology from Radford University. She worked as a speech-language pathologist with adults and the geriatric population in retirement communities within skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, outpatient, and long-term care for 7 years before becoming an Instructor at Radford University.

She is VitalStim® Plus certified, LSVT-LOUD® certified and PROMPT trained. Areas of clinical interest include cognitive communication deficits due to brain injury or progressive disease, hypokinetic dysarthria due to Parkinson’s disease, aphasia, and dysphagia. Ms. Shepard’s main role in the department is supervising graduate students in the Radford University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.

Mrs. Holly Neal Whorley is a Senior Fiscal Tech and Office Manager for the Radford University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. She has a degree in Business Management and has been working in higher education for more than 4 years.

Mrs. Chasity Sowder is an administrative assistant in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Radford University. She has worked as an administrative assistant in the medical field for more than 15 years.