Donita Tefft

B.S. ’80 – Speech, M.A. ’82 – Speech Language Pathology

Donita Tefft attended Oklahoma State University from 1977 to 1982 and graduated with her Master of Arts in speech-language pathology. During her 40-year career in the states of California, Georgia and Oklahoma, Donita has worked with people of all ages in hospitals, private practice, public schools, group homes, skilled nursing facilities and the university setting.

From 2004 to 2021, Donita held several different positions in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at OSU. Her primary role was clinic coordinator of the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, but she also served as a graduate coordinator, lecturer and clinic supervisor. Donita has enjoyed serving as an educator and supervisor to numerous speech-language pathology senior and graduate student clinicians and interns. She’s currently working at Stillwater Medical Center on the acute and rehabilitation floors.

Donita has conducted research in conjunction with other allied health professionals on cognitive readiness for powered mobility in the very young child, resulting in multiple publications and presentations on the topic. She’s also conducted educational in-services and seminars related to neurogenic communication and cognitive disorders seen in pediatric and adult traumatic brain injury individuals. Her other areas of expertise include reading disorders related to auditory processing issues, feeding and swallowing issues, early intervention, and fluency disorders.

Donita is proud to be the adoptive mom to two great young men, Brian and Jonathan. She continues to be an active member of OSU’s Pete’s Pet Posse with her therapy dog, Leo. The two of them can be found on campus often visiting the students and staff of OSU.