The Frank R. Kleffner Lifetime Clinical Career Award recognizes an individual’s outstanding contributions to communication sciences and disorders over a period of at least 20 years. The lifetime contribution may have been in clinical service, supervision or administration of clinical service, clinical research, or any other activity that has promoted clinical excellence.

The award is given in honor of Frank R. Kleffner, a former ASHFoundation president and former ASHA president, who worked tirelessly over his lifetime until his passing in 2015 to professionalize and expand the ASHFoundation’s charitable goals.

The awardee receives a commemorative art object with a recognition plaque.

Criteria for Selection

Nominees should demonstrate outstanding contributions to clinical practice under the following conditions:

  • The nominee's work may be based anywhere in the world.
  • The nominee’s contributions must have been specific, over a period of at least 20 years, significantly affecting recipients of service.
  • The nominee’s contributions must have altered or accelerated the course of quality of clinical care in audiology and/or speech-language pathology.
  • The nominee does not need to be a member of a professional association but should exemplify the ideals of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its advocacy for effective human communication.

Nomination Requirements

Nominators must complete the online Nomination and Summary Form and upload the prepared Nomination Document. Absence of requested information will automatically exclude any potential candidate from consideration.

  1. Nomination and Summary Form (online)
    Nominators are asked to provide the following information:

    1. Nominee's contact information

    2. Nominator’s contact information

    3. A Summary Statement: In three sentences or fewer, state why you are nominating the individual, highlighting the specific achievements.

  1. Nomination Document (one PDF file, limit 15 pages)
    The following required components should be compiled sequentially into one PDF file:

    1. Nomination Narrative (addressed to "Review Panel"), including the following two section headers (limit 5 pages):

      • Education and Career Summary: A summary of the nominee's education and career, including academic and professional honors.

      • Specific Contributions and Significance: A description of the nominee's specific contributions to clinical services (described in sufficient detail to distinguish these from generic activities). Describe the corresponding significance of the effects of those contributions, especially as they relate to the Criteria for Selection section.

    2. Case for Support (limit 10 pages): Provide evidence of support for the nomination through a minimum of three letters of recommendation. These letters should be from audiologists, speech-language pathologists, or related professionals and, where appropriate, from a recipient of services (or a family member of the individual served).

    3. Nominee's vita. (The nominee’s vita is not counted as part of the 15-page limit and is optional; however, reviewers find that the vita provides context for the scope of career contributions.)


All sections of the Nomination Document must be uploaded as ONE PDF file. Selected font should be 12 point and uncondensed, and margins should be at least 1 inch. The Nomination Document should be single-spaced, no more than 15 pages, and include requested section headers. (The nominee's vita is not counted as part of the 15-page limit.)