Franklin W. Bender is an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist and clinical assistant professor in the Communication Disorders and Sciences Department in the College of Education at the University of Oregon.  Mr. Bender received his PhD from the University of Oregon in Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership. He also earned a graduate degree from Portland State University in Speech and Hearing Sciences. As a state licensed speech-language pathologist, who has practiced for over 20 years, Mr. Bender has worked in K-12 education as a speech-language pathologist, worked as an adjunct faculty member at both Portland State University and the University of Oregon, and has served as a national consultant to state departments of education and school districts around the country pertaining to best practices and research-based approaches pertaining to evaluating and serving culturally and linguistically diverse students being considered for special education services. Mr. Bender’s additional clinical and research interests include: Childhood speech and language disorders, social skills development for individuals with ASD, school-based clinical practice, coordinated services between general and special education programs, and measuring teaching effectiveness. Mr. Bender has been an active participant at both the state and national levels regarding speech-language and hearing practices and served as the president of the Oregon Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2004. 

Ph.D.,  2018, University of Oregon
Major: Educational Leadership

M.S., 2014, University of Oregon
Major: Educational Methodology, Policy, & Leadership

M.S., 1997, Portland State University
Major: Speech and Hearing Sciences

B.S., 1993, Portland, State University
Major: Speech Communications

2017: University of Oregon College of Education Professional Development Grant. Awarded $2,500 to become a PEERS Certified Provider for Social Skills Intervention, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior

2012: Awarded $500 from the University of Oregon’s department of Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership to attend and present at the American Education Research Association National Conference

1996: Recognition for outstanding graduate level academic achievement, Speech and Hearing Sciences, Portland State University

1995: President’s award for outstanding university services, Portland State University

1994: Awarded funding by the Academically Controlled Auxiliary Committee, Portland State University, to be one of 50 graduate students across the country to present at the American Speech-Language-Hearing National Conference

1994: National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association Honors for Outstanding Leadership and Academic Achievement

1993: Outstanding Undergraduate Award in Speech and Hearing Sciences, Portland State University

Murray, C., Lombardi, A., Bender, F., & Gerdes, H. (2012). Social support: Main and moderating effects on the relation between financial stress and adjustment among college students with disabilities. Social Psychology & Education. doi: 10.1007/s11218-012-9204-4

Bender, F. (2012). Teacher effectiveness: Can this be measured in an informative way? Published poster for the University of Oregon’s Scholar’s Bank. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1794/13040. University of Oregon: Eugene, OR.

Bender, F. W., Nese, R. T. N., Alonzo, J., & Tindal, J. (in preparation). Response to RTI: A phenomenological case study of one school’s experience of implementing response to intervention.

2017: Directing an Evidence-Based Practice project for one graduate student in the Communication Disorders and Sciences Department at the University of Oregon.

2016: Directing two Evidence-Based Practice projects for two graduate students in the Communication Disorders and Sciences Department at the University of Oregon.

2012: Project leader for a case study research project affiliated with the University of Oregon’s (U of O) department of Behavioral Research and Teaching. I conducted a phenomenological study to identify factors that impact the successful implementation of Response to Intervention at a rural elementary school. As the project leader, I:

*organized and prioritized tasks for the research team;

*identified the appropriate case study methodology;

*conducted interviews, collected data, and facilitated the data analysis, and

*coordinated post research projects (e.g., AERA presentation and an article submission).

2012: Research assistant for the U of O Secondary Special Education and Transition Department. My assigned duties with this research project focused on modeling an established survey for post secondary students with disabilities and whether the survey would be a valid instrument to be used within European universities. Structural equation modeling and invariance testing were used to conduct analysis between results obtained from the U of O and a university in Spain.

2009-2011: Graduate Teaching Fellow Research Assistant for the U of O department for Secondary Special Education and Transition, in conjunction with assisting the Accessible Education Center (formally Disability Services). My research tenure was sponsored by a 3-year federal grant that required me to conduct literature reviews, develop newsletter briefs, and assist with professional development workshops at education conferences and to university faculty pertaining to Universal Design principles and practices in a post secondary educational setting.