Harvey Ronald Gilbert, Professor Emeritus and former head of the Department of Communication Sciences, passed away on Feb. 8, 2025, at his home in State College, Pennsylvania. 

Gilbert was a respected and dynamic scholar of speech-language pathology who served UConn for two decades. He joined the University in 1990 and led the Department of Communication Sciences until 2005, earning a reputation for leading with integrity and fairness and supporting junior faculty. He continued to teach and mentor students until his retirement in 2010.  

After Gilbert’s retirement, communication sciences split into the Department of Communication and the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. His influence as an administrator, educator, and researcher continues to shape both today. 

Gilbert was known as a dynamic professor who helped students understand complex topics through humor. His research contributed to the understanding of how infants develop the ability to vocalize and how various health factors such as smoking, reflux, miner’s black lung disease, Parkinson’s, stuttering, and Down Syndrome impact voice and speech production.  

As a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, he served on multiple committees including chairing the one responsible for overseeing the academic accreditation of the more than 300 speech-language pathology and audiology programs in the country.  

Gilbert is survived by his wife, Heather Dale Ricker-Gilbert, their children, and grandchildren.