Lee Edward Travis (June 23, 1896, Nebraska – October 10, 1987) was one of the founding fathers of

speech pathology Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

in America.

Life

Travis was born June 23, 1896, on a farm in

Chase County, Nebraska Chase County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 3,893. Its county seat is Imperial. In the Nebraska license plate system, Chase County is represented by the prefix 72 (it had t ...

, and raised near

Champion, Nebraska Champion is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in central Chase County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 103. It has a post office with the ZIP code 69023. History Champion was named ...

. He was the second of thirteen children born to Charles Edward Travis and Mary Eunice Speer Travis. He attended

Graceland College Graceland University is a private university with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri. The university offers degree completion and master's degree programs. It also offers undergraduate and graduate programs online. The universi ...

for three years before transferring to the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and obtaining his BA in 1922 and his MA in 1923, both in psychology. While a student, he became a member of

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity in North America. As of 2021, it had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 118,000 alumni. The fraternity is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded on February 26, 1897, at Vincennes Uni ...

fraternity and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

honor society. He finished his PhD in 1924 and was one of the first people in the world to receive a doctorate based on the new field of speech pathology. When his studies were completed, he taught at the University of Iowa where he became head of the defective speech clinic. Travis was one of the original 25 charter members for what is now known as the

American Speech–Language–Hearing Association The American Speech–Language–Hearing Association (ASHA) is a professional association for speech–language pathologists, audiologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. The associatio ...

. The organization was founded in Travis' home after he held a dinner party for attendees of a University of Iowa sponsored conference on speech in 1925. He would later serve as the organization's president. He was appointed as the head of the department of psychology in July 1937 but resigned without reason a few months later in January 1938. He went on to teach at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC). He took a break from teaching during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to serve in the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Medical Corp. As a lieutenant colonel, he was in charge of the psychological services of several hospitals in the European theater. He retired from USC in 1965. That year he became the first dean of the Psychology Department at

Fuller Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...

. He retired from that position in 1975. The Travis Research Institute at Fuller is named for him. He had many prolific writings and editing, most notably his editorial work for ''Handbook of Speech Pathology'' in 1957, which is still referenced. He is most known for his work in the field of stuttering. He died October 10, 1987, aged 91, at his home in

Encino, Los Angeles Encino is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History Etymology The name Encino is the misspelling in masculine of Encina, the Spanish word for "holm oak” (Quercus ilex). The Spanish name reflects t ...

. His funeral was held at the

Bel Air Presbyterian Church Bel Air Church (also known as Bel Air Presbyterian Church) is a Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian church located in Los Angeles, California. Its campus is located on Mulholland Drive in the Encino, Los Angeles, California, Encino neighborh ...

, where he was an elder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Lee Edward 1896 births 1987 deaths People from Chase County, Nebraska Educators from Los Angeles Health professionals from Los Angeles University of Iowa people American Presbyterians 20th-century American psychologists Speech and language pathologists Fuller Theological Seminary faculty American military personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces colonels Sigma Pi members