Columbia College’s 2020 recipient of the SCICU Excellence In Teaching Award is Dr. AnnMarie Cimino Knight, assistant professor in the college’s speech-language pathology (SLP) program. Dr. Knight holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in speech-language pathology, both from the University of Florida. She also earned a B.A. in communications sciences and disorders at the University of South Florida.

Although Dr. Knight has only been a Columbia College faculty member since 2017, she brings to the classroom significant experience with clinical speech therapies in acute hospital settings. Dr. Knight’s professional experience includes serving for 10 years as a speech-language pathologist at Providence Hospital in Columbia. While at Providence, Dr. Knight established an interdisciplinary team dedicated to improving care for individuals with communication and swallowing disorders and designed and executed a training program for nursing and dietary staff.

In just three years at Columbia College, Dr. Knight has already developed several undergraduate courses and assisted with opening the only online speech-language pathology program in South Carolina. Her contributions to improving Columbia’s SLP program include incorporating experiential learning and digital anatomy software into the curriculum, scheduling numerous professional development speakers, and engaging students in research and leadership activities.

Involving students in research and leadership activities is Dr. Knight’s passion. She mentored two SCICU Undergraduate Student/Faculty Program projects this year and has involved students in research collaborations with researchers at the University of South Carolina. She also encourages student researchers to present project findings at other state and national conferences. As a professor, Dr. Knight strives to foster independent learning, strong leadership skills, and a passion for research.

During doctoral studies, Dr. Knight taught graduate and undergraduate courses in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology and graduate courses in neurological disorders of communication and swallowing. She was also awarded Pre-doctoral research fellowships by the University of Florida Department of Neurology and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.