The Adult Audiologic Rehabilitation Program was developed and first implemented in 2009 under the leadership of  Dr. Fran Harris with the generous support of the Pignatelli Family and the University of Arizona Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinics.

Jim Pignatelli has a very personal relationship with hearing loss and inspires us all to do our best.

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"Impaired hearing is prevalent in my family. Every generation has been adversely impacted by it. I was able to cope with it during my working years, however, I was very aware that even with my hearing aids I missed parts of conversations, questions and was at a severe disadvantage on the telephone. When I retired, my wife Dyan and I wanted to do something to help people with hearing loss. Working with the University of Arizona Speech, Language and Hearing Department  we established the following objectives, which we felt would  create a meaningful program and have a positive impact on individuals and the community:

1. Facilitate communication between the hearing impaired person and their significant other;

2. Assist the hearing impaired to understand the nature of their hearing loss, how to cope with it and what devices are available to help them;

3. Reach out to the community and have UofA help the public recognize the impact of hearing loss on the individual and the community; and

4. Provide an opportunity for students to observe the impact of hearing loss on actual people (which we felt would make them better audiologists).

We are very pleased with the results and are extremely proud of the positive impact that the program is having on the subjects and the  students" -Jim Pignatelli, 2011