Dr. Katherine "Kay" Thorn (1908-1977) was a founder and a leader in the professional activities associated with speech pathology. She earned her undergraduate degree from Elmira College and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. She worked as a speech therapist in the East Aurora public school system before working at Elmira College and University of Minnesota. The rest of her career was spent at the University at Buffalo.

When hired in 1949, Thorn was UB's first professor of Speech Communications. In 1950, she established the University's Speech and Hearing Clinic and served as its director until her retirement in 1971. Additionally, Thorn served as president of the UB Chapter of the American Association of University Professors and as secretary of the University Senate; as well as acting as faculty advisor and as Assistant Dean of Students.

Thorn was Founder and Vice President of the New York State Speech and Hearing Association, Fellow of the American Speech and Hearing Association, and Diplomat of the American Psychological Association. Her research is widely published in speech communications journals. Among them is the Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, for which she spent time as an editorial consultant.

In the Buffalo community, Thorn served as Director of the YWCA of Buffalo and Erie County and acted as a speech pathology consultant at the Veterans Administration Hospitals in Buffalo and Bath. For additional biographical information, see the appended obituary from the Reporter (April 28, 1977).

For additional background information about the Speech Clinic, see appended article from the Alumni Bulletin (February 1959).