Rate My Professor Liz Spencer

Dr Liz Spencer is a Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology in the School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, at the University of Newcastle. She holds a PhD from the University of Sydney, a Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours) from the University of Newcastle, and a Bachelor of Arts from Macquarie University. Spencer's research focuses on discourse analysis in speech pathology across communication disorders, effects of language on ageing using clinical linguistics and computerised linguistic analysis, clinical linguistics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, and Systemic Functional Linguistic analysis. Since joining the University of Newcastle in 2008, she has held key appointments including Head of Discipline, Speech Pathology (2022-present; 2013-2017), Speech Pathology Program Convenor and Head of Program (2020-2021), Cluster Leader Healthy Communities & Social Futures (2018-2019), and coordinator of the Clinical Education Program for the Bachelor of Speech Pathology (2008-2011). She teaches and coordinates core courses such as SPTH1080 Introduction to Speech Pathology, SPTH2102 Paediatric Language, SPTH1001 Child Speech & Language 1, SPTH1002 Child Speech & Language 2, SPTH2002 Child Language & Hearing Across the Lifespan, SPTH4210 Research Review, and SPTH4440 Honours Thesis. Spencer supervises higher degree by research students, with completed PhDs on topics including facilitating speech pathologists' roles with dementia patients (2023), linguistic discourse analysis for aphasia assessment (2018), cognitive communication post-traumatic brain injury (2015), and treatment of co-occurring stuttering and speech sound disorders (2015).

Her achievements include the 2017 Education & Arts Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence and Contribution to Student Learning (team award), 2013 Faculty of Education & Arts Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence, 2011 University of Newcastle Work Integrated Learning Staff Member/Team of the Year Award, 2015 Faculty Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence (highly commended), 2015 Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence & Contribution to Student Learning (team), 2013 School of Humanities & Social Science Publication Award, 2013 University of Newcastle Equity Research Fellowship, 1999 Dean’s Medal (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences), and 1999 Health Sciences PhD Research Scholarship (University of Sydney). Key publications feature co-editing The Handbook of Clinical Linguistics (2024), chapters 'Systemic Functional Linguistics and Communication Disorders' (2024), 'Discourse Assessment Across the Recovery Continuum of Traumatic Brain Injury' (2022), 'Discourse Impairments' (2019), and journal articles 'Speech-language pathologists’ views on visual discourse elicitation materials for cognitive communication disorder after TBI' (2025, Journal of Communication Disorders), 'Collaborative approaches with stakeholders in speech-language pathology: Narrative literature review' (2024, International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders), 'How do speech-language pathologists assess and treat spoken discourse after TBI?' (2024, International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders), and 'Minimizing Variability in Language Sampling Analysis' (2020, Topics in Language Disorders).