Donald Finan

Faculty

Professor & Department Chair

Location Gunter Hall, Office 1480
Address 501 20th St., Campus Box 140, Greeley, CO 80639

Education

PhD, Indiana University, 1998.
Area of Study: Speech Physiology & Developmental Neuroscience

MS, Eastern Illinois University, 1991.
Area of Study: Speech Pathology

BS, Eastern Illinois University, 1989.
Area of Study: Speech Pathology and Audiology

Professional Experience & Affiliations

Chair, University of Northern Colorado
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders (2023 – Present)

Professor, University of Northern Colorado
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders (2016 – Present)

Associate Professor, University of Northern Colorado
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders (2011-2016)

Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado
Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders (2009-2011)

Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences (2001-2008)

Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Communication Disorders and Sciences (2000-2001)

Research Expertise & Interests

Areas of Interest
  • Aspects of motor control for speech and other oromotor behaviors
  • Perturbation paradigms to investigate oromotor control in infants, children and adults to altered sensorimotor environments
  • Speech and feeding development in infants
  • Development of respiratory/laryngeal coordination for speech in children
  • Responses to auditory perturbation (altered auditory feedback or acoustic startle) in individuals who stutter
  • Articulatory responses to lingual perturbation
  • Co-developer of the Actifier II and NTrainer technologies, devices used to assess and provide therapeutic stimulation to premature infants with oromotor feeding deficits
Comparisons of DRC for impulsive noise: Evidence from firearm noise
Novel approaches for teaching science

I am working towards developing novel materials (physical models, computer models and graphics) for teaching science in the Communication Sciences & Disorders.

Pedagogical approaches in speech and hearing science coursework

Development and application of instructional pedagogical approaches that are non-conventional relating to coursework in the speech and hearing sciences.

Publications

  • Meinke DK, Murphy WJ, Finan DS, Lankford JE, Flamme GA, Stewart M, Soendergaard J, & Jerome TW (2014). Auditory risk estimates for youth target shooting. International Journal of Audiology Vol 53: pp S16-S25.
  • Meinke D, Finan D, Soendergaard J, Flamme G, Murphy W, Lankford J, & Stewart M {2013}. Impulse noise generated by starter pistols. International Journal of Audiology Vol. 52: pp S9-19.
  • Finan DS, Tasko SM (2012). Toward a speech sciences community. Perspectives on Speech Science and Orofacial Disorders, 22(1): 14-20.
  • Murphy WJ, Flamme GA, Meinke DK, Sondergaard J, Finan DS, Lankford JE, Khan A, Vernon J, & Stewart M {2012). Measurement of impulse peak insertion loss for four hearing protection devices in field conditions. International Journal of Audiology, 51: S31-S42.
  • Finan DS (2010). Get Hip to the Data Acquisition Scene: Principles of Digital Signal Recording. Perspectives on Speech Science and Orofacial Disorders, 20 6-13.
  • Pollard R, Finan D, & Ramig PR {2010). Response to Saltuklaroglu, Kalinowski, and Stuart (201O}. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research,_53: 912 – 916.
  • Barlow SM, Finan DS, Andreatta R, & Boliek CA (2008). Kinematic measurement of the human speech mechanism. In: M. McNeil (ed.) The Clinical Management of Sensorimotor Speech Disorders, 2nct Ed., Theime Medical Publishers.
  • Barlow SM, Finan DS, & Park S-Y (2004). Sensorimotor entrainment of respiratory and orofacial systems in humans. In B. Maassen, W. Hulstijn, R. Kent, H.F.M. Peters, P.H.M.M. van Lieshout (Eds.), Speech Motor Control in Normal and Disordered Speech. Oxford University Press.

Grants and Sponsored Research

  • Muralimanohar, R. K. (Principal), Finan, D. (Co-Principal), “Conversion of CSD 555 Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of Communication to completely open source materials,” Sponsored by UNC Affordable & OER (AOER) Committee, Colorado Commission on Higher Education, State, $2,500.00. (October 2024 – June 2025).