Communication Sciences and Disorders
JABSOM mourns the loss of former Associate Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) Dorothy Craven.
Craven passed away peacefully in her Honolulu home on February 5, 2025. She was 99 years old.
For more than 40 years, Craven shaped a generation of speech-language pathologists as a faculty member and Interim Department Chair of JABSOM's CSD program.
As a faculty member from 1970 to 2010, she advocated for Hawaiʻi state licensure for Speech-Language Pathologists and audiologists and voiced our state's unique strengths and needs as our legislative councilor to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). For 27 years, she served as the ASHA Continuing Education Administrator for the Hawaii Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
In addition to transforming lives by helping children and adults discover their voices, Craven will also be remembered for mentoring some of JABSOM's most influential figures.
Before Dr. Jill Omori became JABSOM's Director of the Office of Medical Education and director of the Hawaii H.O.M.E. Project, she was initially on the fence about entering medicine.
"My bachelor's degree is in Speech Pathology and Audiology," Omori said. "Mrs. Craven was my advisor at the time. I had shared with her that I initially wanted to go into medicine but had second thoughts after attending a seminar where a disgruntled female physician discouraged us from going into medicine if we wanted to start a family. Mrs. Craven put me in touch with her female physician friends, and we talked about the options of going into medicine. Because of that, I decided to apply to medical school again. She was always such a big supporter, even after I went into medical school."
Dr. Pauline Mashima, current Graduate Chair of the CSD program, was also very close with Mrs. Craven.
"Mrs. Craven was a dedicated educator and mentor whose life was marked by service, compassion, and excellence. She was honored with numerous awards throughout her career; however, more than her awards and accolades, she is remembered for the values she instilled—selfless service, a commitment to lifelong learning, and a passion for helping others communicate,” Mashima said. “She inspired her students and colleagues to fulfill ASHA’s vision of 'making effective communication, a human right, accessible and achievable for all.' Her legacy lives on in the many lives she touched."
Even after retiring in 2010, Craven remained active with the CSD program. In 2022, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders hosted the first annual Dorothy Craven Research Symposium. " She was such a strong supporter of the program and a big advocate for communication science disorders. It was really nice to see that she still kind of had her hand in all that," Omori said.
"We all remember honoring and celebrating Ms. Craven in December during our annual research symposium," Keith Yamase, MPA, said. "Her amazing contributions to the UH CSD department and the SLP community within the state will never go unforgotten."
Mrs. Craven's extraordinary life will be celebrated at Central Union Church on Friday, June 27, at 3:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Dorothy Craven Education and Lifelong Learning Fund. This UH Foundation fund supports the acquisition of knowledge and skills for students and the advancement of clinical services provided by speech-language pathologists (SLP) through education, continuing professional development, and research.