For more than half a century, the Callier Center for Communication Disorders has been dedicated to helping children and adults with speech, language and hearing disorders connect with the world. We transform lives by providing innovative, cutting-edge evaluation and treatment; engaging in pioneering research into the causes, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders; and training the next generation of outstanding clinical providers.
The Callier Center began through the generosity of Mrs. Lena E. Callier.
Hearing loss had a profound effect on Lena Callier, a native Texan who enjoyed a socially active life with her husband, Edward. But as her hearing declined, so did her enthusiasm for participating in social and recreational activities. Mrs. Callier’s once thriving and active life soon became very isolating and frustrating. The hearing loss had such an impact on her life that she made a commitment to herself to do all she could to prevent others from experiencing the same fate.
In 1950, Mrs. Callier established a trust for the purpose of alleviating the effects of hearing loss, as well as speech and language disorders. After her death in 1957, the trust from Mrs. Callier’s estate was used to establish the Callier Hearing and Speech Center, which was incorporated as a non-profit, community-based institution in 1963.
Her legacy lives on. Sixty years later, the Callier Center has grown into the foremost speech, language and hearing resource for North Texas, and is one of the most renowned such centers in the nation.
Callier Center
The Formative Years
The Formative Years
The Pilot Institute for Deaf Children, the first center for deaf children in Dallas, is established by the Dallas Chapter of Pilot International, a businesswomen’s service club.
The Formative Years
The Pilot Institute is gifted Bradford Hall (located at 4909 Cedar Springs Road) by Mr. and Mrs. T.L. Bradford Jr., and two daughters, Mrs. Joe Reichman and Mrs. W. R. Goddard. Munger Hall is given by the late Mr. Roy Munger and his son, Mr. Jack Munger.
The Formative Years
Mrs. Callier establishes a trust for the purpose of alleviating the effects of hearing loss, as well as speech and language disorders.
The Formative Years
Nelle Johnston is named board chair of the Pilot Institute.
The Formative Years
A civic-minded and visionary committee including UT Dallas co-founder and former Dallas Mayor Erik Jonsson, Callier founding director Dr. Aram Glorig, and board president Johnston establish the use of the Callier Trust. The Pilot School for the Deaf, the Dallas Speech and Hearing Center and the Dallas Council for the Deaf merge with the Callier Center to form one cooperative program: The Callier Hearing and Speech Center.
Callier Center
60 Years of Caring
60 Years of Caring
The Callier Hearing and Speech Center is incorporated as a non-profit community-based institution. The center is initially housed in the basement of the primary Dallas County hospital facility (Parkland Hospital).
60 Years of Caring
Callier board members plan a capital campaign to construct a new building for the Callier Hearing and Speech Center. They acquire a land lease of 5 1/2 acres at 1966 Inwood Road where the building will be located.
Glorig becomes the founding director of the Callier Center.
60 Years of Caring
Callier exhibits at the State Fair of Texas, testing 2,946 visitors’ hearing and offering information about center services to an estimated 15,000 attendees.
60 Years of Caring
The new Callier Hearing and Speech Center building is dedicated in a ceremony attended by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and other dignitaries.
Callier begins its affiliation with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, receiving funding from the philanthropic organization for the first time.
60 Years of Caring
The deaf-education program at the Callier Hearing and Speech Center becomes part of the Dallas County/Dallas ISD public school deaf education program. Many program components, including the deaf-education preschool, continue to be located on the Callier Center campus.
(Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, Erik Jonsson and children)
60 Years of Caring
The center’s name changes to Callier Center for Communication Disorders to reflect the broad scope and distinctiveness of its programs.
60 Years of Caring
The Callier Center becomes a component of the University of Texas at Dallas School of Human Development (later renamed the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences). The audiology and speech-language pathology undergraduate and graduate programs begin enrollment.
60 Years of Caring
The Child Development Program launches, serving children ages 3 to 5 in the initial program.
60 Years of Caring
The Preverbal Program is the first program at the Callier Center designed for children with autism.
60 Years of Caring
The Child Development Program receives accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and continues to receive accreditation to this day.
60 Years of Caring
Callier dispenses the first digital hearing aid, the Nicolet Phoenix (the first wearable digital device available commercially).
60 Years of Caring
The Callier Child Development Program and the Dallas ISD Deaf Education Callier Preschool collaborate to become an inclusive educational environment for children who are hearing and children who are deaf or hard of hearing. This collaboration continues to the present.
60 Years of Caring
The cochlear implant program is created as a collaboration between the Callier Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center. The first child in North Texas receives a cochlear implant.
60 Years of Caring
Callier receives a generous grant from the Crystal Charity Ball which serves as a catalyst in the funding of the cochlear implant program.
60 Years of Caring
The Callier Center participates in the Cochlear Corporation’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clinical trial for the Nucleus 22 cochlear implant, which is later approved for children in 1998.
60 Years of Caring
Twelve campers attend the first Cochlear Implant Summer Listening Camp held through the generosity of the Crystal Charity Ball. Today, more than 60 campers attend.
60 Years of Caring
The Doctor of Audiology program is approved by the coordinating board, and enrollment begins.
60 Years of Caring
The Advanced Hearing Research building is constructed, and a ceremony is held to dedicate the building located on the Callier Center campus.
60 Years of Caring
The Callier Center expands to include a second location on The University of Texas at Dallas campus in Richardson.
Callier participates in a pivotal study of bilateral cochlear implants in children involving the Med-El Combi 40+ device.
60 Years of Caring
The Callier Child Development Program expands to include infants and toddlers in a new building constructed by UT Southwestern Medical Center on the Callier Center campus.
60 Years of Caring
The University of Texas at Dallas launches its first comprehensive campaign, Realize the Vision: The Campaign for Tier One & Beyond. Callier’s goal is to raise $8 million of the total $200 million goal.
The Callier Prize is established to recognize individuals from around the world for their leadership in fostering scientific advances and significant developments in the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders.
60 Years of Caring
The Callier Center launches the Communication Technology Center (CTech) to serve as a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration and
research, and as an incubator for technology projects focusing on communication disorders.
60 Years of Caring
The Callier Center celebrates 50 years of caring.
60 Years of Caring
The 25th Cochlear Implant Summer Listening Camp is hosted at Cross Creek Ranch.
60 Years of Caring
The Foundation for The Callier Center and the Callier Center for Communication Disorders join in celebration of 60 years of creating the ability to connect.
