Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro has approved a name change for the department formerly known as the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies. It will now be known as the Department of Communicative Sciences and Deaf Studies.

According to Dr. Steven Skelton, the chair of the department, the change reflects Fresno State’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and will give the department opportunities for expanded professional partnerships with other schools.

The department offers degree programs in audiology, deaf education, interpreting and speech-language pathology. Currently, 499 students are enrolled in the department.