Toya Wyatt, professor of communication sciences and disorders at Cal State Fullerton, has been named the recipient of the 2024 Rick D. Pullen Academic Excellence Award.
The award, named in honor of longtime dean Rick Pullen, recognizes College of Communications faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to teaching and the overall enhancement of the learning environment.
For more than 30 years, Wyatt has taught numerous undergraduate courses and graduate seminars, earning a reputation as a conscientious and compassionate educator. Her commitment to academic rigor and her ability to push students to achieve their highest potential — both in the classroom and in clinical settings — has left a lasting impact on generations of students.
From the early 1990s through 2016, Wyatt served as the department’s undergraduate adviser, a role in which she was instrumental in growing the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders’ enrollment. She provided initial advisement to hundreds of undergraduates, assigned them to faculty mentors, and helped establish the Peer Mentoring Center in collaboration with students in the early 2000s to foster academic support and community.
A trailblazer in supporting diversity in higher education, Wyatt has long been committed to recruiting and retaining underrepresented students. In 1998, she co-authored a widely cited article with colleagues Terry Saenz and John Reinard, titled “Increasing the Recruitment and Retention of Historically Underrepresented Minority Students in Higher Education: A Case Study.” The publication continues to influence diversity strategies in the field of speech-language pathology.
Wyatt’s leadership extended to directing the university’s Speech and Hearing Clinic from 2011-16. During her tenure, she modernized equipment, implemented new procedures to enhance client confidentiality and clinical efficiency, and oversaw the department’s Multicultural Speech and Hearing Clinic, which served multilingual clients for over two decades. She has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Faculty Recognition: Service award in 2012 and the Outstanding Teacher/Scholar Award on three occasions.
Her university service record is extensive. She has served on committees ranging from curriculum and library to diversity and faculty development, including work with the Minority Biomedical Research Support Committee and the Mentoring Network Program for Black Student Success. She also co-chaired the Faculty Elevation Subcommittee of the Black Faculty and Staff Association and mentored students who founded CSUF’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.
At the department level, Wyatt has served on personnel and graduate committees and chaired the group that aligned the department’s personnel standards with updated university guidelines in 2024. She continues to review hundreds of graduate applications and shape the department’s future through her leadership and mentorship.
Professionally, Wyatt has contributed as an associate editor and consultant for scholarly journals and has presented extensively at state and national conferences. She has advised on test bias in clinical assessments and currently serves on the advisory board for the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation, an assessment tool aimed at reducing inappropriate referrals of Black children for speech-language services. Her research and service have focused on equitable practices in communication disorders, particularly for African American English-speaking children.
Past recipients include Amber Chitty Wilson, Shelly Murray, Minjung Kim, Beth Georges, Kurt Kitselman, Bonnie Stewart, Kenneth Tom, Andi Stein, Jeanine Congalton, Jule Selbo, Carolyn Coal, Edith Li and Philippe Perebinossoff.