University of New England

UNE President Danielle Ripich awarded Distinguished Alumni Award from Cleveland State University

BIDDEFORD- University of New England President Danielle N. Ripich, Ph.D., was recently awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater, Cleveland State University.

Each year, Cleveland State honors distinguished alumni from each of the seven colleges to recognize their accomplishments and their commitment to the university. President Ripich, a graduate of Cleveland State's College of Science, was honored at this year's 17th Annual Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner held on June 8, 2007.

Danielle Ripich
Dr. Ripich earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in speech pathology from Cleveland State University, and her Ph.D. from Kent State University. In addition, she holds a certificate in management development from Harvard University and a certificate from the Professional Fellows Program at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Ripich became the fifth president of the University of New England in July 2006. Prior to that, she spent seven years at the Medical University of South Carolina as dean of the College of Health Professions and as professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Neurology.

She began her academic career at Cleveland State University, teaching voice and diction from 1980 to 1982. She then moved to Case Western Reserve University as an instructor, but soon became chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and then associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Ripich is internationally known for her language research, particularly with children, the hearing impaired, and persons with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

(Press release posted June 19, 2007)