ETSU's College of Health Sciences honored the newest members of its Hall of Fame on Friday, Nov. 22. 

East Tennessee State University’s College of Health Sciences honored its 2024 Hall of Fame inductees and presented its Distinguished Alumni Award this week, celebrating the accomplishments of college alumni, former faculty and staff and community members. 

The college presented Dr. Heather Toth with the Distinguished Alumni Award, which honors graduates who have contributed in a significant way to the vision and mission of the college. 

Toth is an accomplished audiologist, with a Doctor of Audiology degree from ETSU and a bachelor's in communications and Spanish. She currently serves as the Clinical Coordinator at Duke Otolaryngology of South Durham. Toth also serves as a clinical research audiologist for a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funded study, focusing on evaluating unilateral versus bilateral hearing aids for the treatment of age-related hearing loss. 

While working at Asheville Head Neck and Ear Surgeons, she created and led the first cochlear implant program in Western North Carolina. She is currently serving on the Forbes Health Advisory Board after being invited to join in 2023.

The College of Health Sciences also inducted five new members into its Hall of Fame: Laura Hankins Vencill, Jo Cullen, Joan Dearden, Dr. Mary Michal and Delmar L. Mack. 

Hankins Vencill has served as the lead speech-language Pathologist for Russell County Schools in Virginia for the past two decades. She was recently appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to serve as one of seven members of the Virginia Board of Audiology and Speech Pathology, which evaluates and issues licenses to applicants, sets minimum standards of competency for professionals and monitors the practices of licensed professionals. 

Dedicated to professional development, she organized an annual conference for many years that provided free continuing education credit for hundreds of speech-language pathologists in the region, and is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing 

Cullen, who began her career in England, serves as the executive director of Jeremiah School, a non-profit school for children with autism. Cullen graduated from York University with a bachelor’s degree in English and Education, and later earned a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education. She also serves on the Philanthropy Board for the College of Health Sciences. In 2024, Cullen was recognized as the local winner of the Nexstar Media 'Remarkable Women' program, acknowledging her exceptional contributions to the community.

Dearden graduated from what is now the University School on ETSU’s campus in 1951 and received degrees from ETSU and Duke University. Dearden was an esteemed member of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Historical Society and the Alliance for Continued Learning Group at ETSU. In 2023, ETSU named the Joan Dearden Radiologic Science Suite in Lamb Hall after her. Dearden is also memorialized through the Joan Allison Dearden Memorial Scholarship Endowment, providing assistance to students interested in radiology.  

Michal was one of four women in Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Class of 1960 and held a faculty position at ETSU for two decades before establishing the Michal Child Development Center in Johnson City to help children with developmental and behavioral issues. Throughout her career as a developmental pediatrician, Michal worked with other professionals in numerous disciplines, including speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy and more. The Dr. Mary L. Michal Development-Behavioral Pediatrics Program Endowment at ETSU is named in her honor.  

Mack currently serves on the Board of Respiratory Care for the State of Tennessee, and previously spent three decades as an educator and administrator, including serving as the director of Clinical Education and as program director for the Cardio-Pulmonary Science program at ETSU. His passion for respiratory therapy led to his various appointments within ETSU and in organizations such as the American Association for Respiratory Care, the Tennessee Hospital Association’s Council, the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners Respiratory Care Advisory Board and as the past chair of the Upper East Tennessee Chapter of the Tennessee Society for Respiratory Care.

To learn more about the College of Health Sciences, visit etsu.edu/chs/. 

East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.

Browse Related Stories

Stay in Touch

Follow ETSU on Social