Charlene "Mac" Eblen

An avid bookwork, Charlene "Mac" Eblen discovered the magic of language while growing up during the Depression in Wichita, Kansas. In fact, her fascination with words would become a life-long passion. Entering Wichita University on a scholarship during World War II, Mac worked part time in the English department while she majored in English and minored in history, French and German. It was here that she met the love of her life, a young speech pathology instructor named Roy Eblen. They married in 1945, and the family grew to include two sons and a daughter.

The passage of the G.I. Bill in 1952 marked a turning point in Mac's work. Swamped by hundreds of veterans seeking degrees, Mac's alma mater invited her to help by teaching composition, a required course. This stint set the foundation for a very rewarding career in education. After Roy earned his doctorate degree from the University of Iowa in 1960, the family moved to Cedar Falls where Roy joined the faculty at Iowa State Teachers College. Mac joined the faculty in 1967, teaching students about the power of language until her retirement in 1992.

Roy was also committed to working with language. A pioneer in the field of speech pathology, Roy was dedicated to clinical excellence and nurtured the fledgling program at UNI for 25 years. Today, U.S. News and World Report ranks UNI's Speech-Language Pathology Masters degree program ninth in the country and second in the Midwest amongst programs that stop at the master's level. In recognition of Roy's dedication, the Roy Eblen Speech and Hearing Center was dedicated in 1995.

Before Roy died in 1998, Roy and Mac created the Roy E. Eblen Endowed Scholarship Fund and the Roy E. Eblen Endowment for Communicative Disorders to support the work of the department. Mac also established a charitable remainder trust for the Eblen Scholarship and Program Fund. She says, "We made these gifts because language is an integral part of being human. Language both shapes and reflects who we are, and how we see the world. Our gift to UNI is our way of helping future students know the pleasure and power of language."

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