Author: Tia King

At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where academic reputations are built on research breakthroughs and classroom innovation, much of the daily work that keeps departments moving forward happens quietly. In the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, that steady presence for more than a decade has been Stefanie Cole.

Cole did not set out to build a long career in higher education administration. Having just completed her service in the U.S. Air Force, she was working as a medical office assistant at the Carle Cancer Center. She was a new wife, a new mother and new to the Champaign-Urbana area. Raised in a university town, she understood the rhythm of campus life and was looking for broader options with greater flexibility and room to grow professionally.

“The University of Illinois seemed like a great fit,” she said, adding that it offered stability, opportunities to advance and a chance to build on the skills she had developed in the military and in healthcare settings.

Thirteen years into her campus career, the opportunity to join Speech and Hearing Science found her. “It was the perfect time to explore some new challenges,” she said.

At the outset, Cole imagined she might stay in the role for five years, long enough to see her son through high school. Instead, she found a professional home. “I love my job. I love my faculty,” she said. When health issues arose within her family, the predictability and support of her department made staying an easy decision.

During her tenure, SHS has seen significant change. This semester marks the arrival of the department’s fourth head since she joined. The unit has undergone an extensive building remodel, and its audiology clinic operations were relocated and combined with speech-language pathology into a shared facility at Research Park. Faculty members have come and gone, reflecting national searches and shifting research priorities.

Yet some things, she says, have remained constant.

“Although some faculty have left and new faculty have arrived, the collegiality and cohesiveness has always remained outstanding,” Cole said.

As administrative aide, she occupies a role that is at once central and largely invisible. She describes her job as ensuring that the department’s work runs as smoothly as possible. Budgets, faculty searches, promotion and tenure dossiers, award programs and the daily churn of academic paperwork all pass through her office.

Georgia Malandraki, who replaced Pamela Hadley as department head of SHS in January 2026, said Cole’s steadiness has been immeasurable in her transition.

“In just a short time, Stefanie has become one of the people I rely on most. Stepping into a new leadership role is never easy, but she welcomed me with warmth and immediately made me feel supported. Her calm presence, deep knowledge of the department and genuine care for the people here have been invaluable. I already can’t imagine navigating this transition without her. She is the quiet strength behind so much of what we do, and I feel incredibly lucky to work with her.”

There is no typical day, Cole said. The academic calendar dictates a certain ebb and flow—admissions cycles, graduation, the annual student awards program each spring—but any carefully constructed to-do list can be upended by last-minute requests or unexpected crises.

“I come in the morning with the best laid plans of a set agenda of tasks for my day,” she said. “But I usually leave having accomplished many different tasks than I had originally planned.”

When deadlines tighten or complications arise, Cole holds herself to high standards. “I expect more from myself than anyone else specifically expects,” she said. “When things don’t go as planned, I want the best for the department and I am willing to step in to fill whatever hole that I can, however I can.”

Though her primary interactions are with faculty, students remain a meaningful part of her work. Planning the department’s annual student awards program is, she said, “such a treat.” The ceremony offers a rare pause in the academic year and a chance to meet families and celebrate achievements that represent years of clinical training and research.

The department’s clinical graduate programs are complex and often stressful. Cole believes students know they can walk into the administrative office with questions and feel comfortable doing so. “If we don’t have the answer, we work hard to point them in the right direction,” she said.

One of the most consequential aspects of her role involves shepherding faculty through promotion and tenure. The process is detailed, exacting and often years in the making. Watching those efforts culminate in successful promotion milestones, she said, reaffirms the importance of her work.

“I enjoy having a front-row seat to the growth within the department,” Cole said.

Her years across multiple campus roles have also given her insight into how a large public university functions. Policies, approvals and budget decisions move more slowly than they might in private industry, she said, not because of inefficiency but because of the many moving parts involved.

“The wheels of the university turn slower than other places,” she said. “There are a lot of moving parts and pieces that make up the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ we do what we do. Please be patient.”

Institutional memory is another quiet responsibility she carries. When she first arrived at SHS, much of the department’s history and procedural knowledge was undocumented, passed along informally from one person to the next. Today, only a handful of faculty members remain from those early years.

“It was ‘learn as we go,’” she said. Over the next few years, she hopes to document as much departmental history and practice as possible, preserving traditions and unwritten rules for the next generation of staff and faculty.

Of all her accomplishments, Cole said she is most proud of the support she provides to her department head and faculty and of the streamlined processes that have taken shape during her tenure. With a new department head now at the helm, she looks forward to the department’s next chapter.

Through stressful or thankless stretches, she credits the people around her for keeping her motivated. “Our faculty, staff and students are always gracious and appreciative of the work that we do,” she said.

In a university environment where recognition often centers on those at the lectern or in the lab, Cole’s work underscores another truth: institutions run on dedication as much as distinction. For more than a decade at Illinois, she has made sure that when others succeed, the path behind them is clear.

Editor’s note:

To reach Vince Lara-Cinisomo, email vinlara@illinois.edu

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