Travis, Lee Edward, 1896-

Born on June 23, 1896, Lee Edward Travis is known as one of the American pioneers of speech-language pathology. His primary professional work centered on the investigation of stuttering.

Travis served during WWI and then went on to college at the University of Iowa. In three consecutive years, he completed his BA (1922), MA (1923), and PhD in psychology (1924). While attending Iowa, he was a student of Carl Seashore.

After completing his PhD, he continued his research at Iowa through a three-year National Research Council fellowship. This research produced 16 experimental studies on speech and other physiological processes. This work led to an appointment as Associate Professor at Iowa in 1927 and promotion to full professor a year later in 1928. In 1927 he became head of psychology, only to leave for a Professorship of Psychology and Speech at the University of Southern California (USC) in 1938.

With the outbreak of WWII, Travis became a Lt. Colonel and officer in charge of psychological services for the armed forces. After the war Travis continued work in clinical practice in hospitals and private practice as well as continued professorship at USC.

In 1965 he took a position at Fuller Theological Seminary where he established graduate PhD programs in clinical and counseling psychology until retirement in 1975. Travis pioneered the use of electromyogram and electroencephalogram in physiological responses. After learning about the cerebral dominance hypothesis, that stuttering may be due to a lack of lateralization of the brain hemispheres, Travis set about researching this idea. The resulting 1931 book, Speech Pathology, created wide support for this hypothesis. Travis' work on speech led to the later classic books Handbook of Speech Pathology (1959) and Handbook of Speech Pathology and Audiology (1971).

Travis passed away on October 9, 1987 at the age of 91.

From the guide to the Lee Edward Travis papers, 1946-1987, (Center for the History of Psychology)