ALUMNI “WALL OF HONOR” The West Liberty University Alumni Board of Directors instituted a project in 1990 to demonstrate to current students, visitors, and friends that the college has some very successful graduates. This project, known as the “Alumni Wall of Honor,” is a dramatic way to honor some of the college’s most distinguished alumni and display pride in the accomplishments of its graduates. The concept was suggested by then Associate Professor of Physics Robert W. Schramm, who is a 1958 graduate of the college and a 2002 Alumni Wall of Honor inductee. The Alumni Wall of Honor is housed in the south end of the Union known as the Alumni Lounge.
Melvin Sorkowitz
Inducted 2012Dr. Sorkowitz was born in Akron, Ohio. He earned his bachelor’s of arts degree at West Liberty and went on to earn a master’s degree in audiology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis., where he was a vocational rehabilitation scholarship recipient. He also attended Louisiana State University and Temple University, earning a doctoral degree in audiology and completing his studies in 2003.
After graduation, he became the director and originator of the audiology program at the Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia. Because audiology was a relatively young profession, he became an important resource for the ear, nose, throat specialists in the region.
Sorkowitz and his wife, Sondra, a business professional, decided that the hearing aid profession needed a new direction. They incorporated Audiological Consultants, Inc. of Pennsylvania in 1969 and grew their business to include seven privately owned offices serving the hearing impaired in the Greater Philadelphia area.
In 1972, Sorkowitz made a movie, “Hearing Aids, How to Fit Them,” which won an award that year for the most important contribution for medicine and surgery through the field of cinematography. Sorkowitz went on to become a national presenter and guest lecturer for hearing aid manufacturers meetings and otolaryngologists conventions.
From 1978 to 1984, Sorkowitz owned and operated manufacturing facilities in both Colorado Springs, Co. and Los Angeles. Calif.
In 1984, the Sorkowitz family, which includes two daughters Elissa and Adina, moved to Boca Raton, Fla., and opened two professional audiology/hearing aid offices.
Sorkowitz was recognized by the Audiology Foundation of America and received the Professional Leadership Award in recognition of “perseverance and strength as a pioneer in hearing aid dispensing by audiologists, as well as continued, joyful dedication to leading the audiology profession to new horizons.”