GIVING
Colleen Wilcox: Champion for Communication
By Sam Kamangar Photography by Florian Pilsl
GIVING
Colleen Wilcox: Champion for Communication
By Sam Kamangar Photography by Florian Pilsl
How a speech pathologist's journey from stuttering child to generous philanthropist embodies the transformative power of education
Colleen Wilcox sits in her sunlit home, surrounded by beautiful pieces of art — powerful female figures carved from stone and cast in bronze. This remarkable woman has lived a life of overcoming challenges, helping others find their voices, and now ensuring future generations have the same opportunities that transformed her own life.
An emerita director of the Tower Foundation of San José State University, and board member from 2016-2025, Wilcox has pledged to support speech language pathologists and other future educators by funding a professorship in the Communicative Disorders and Sciences Department at the Connie L. Lurie College of Education. Moved by San José State’s ranking as the most transformative university in the nation, Wilcox created an endowment through a planned estate gift to elevate the professorship and establish the Colleen Wilcox Faculty Chair, effective posthumously. By creating the college’s first endowed faculty chair, Wilcox is laying a foundation for generations of impactful teaching and scholarship.
“Even though I didn't attend San José State University, as county superintendent of schools in Santa Clara County, I found that more than half of all the teachers and speech pathologists graduated from SJSU.”
— Colleen Wilcox
Finding her voice: A journey to speech pathology
Wilcox's story begins in Moline, Illinois, where her severe stutter began at age four. "When I was seven, my father enrolled me with the school's speech therapist, and I knew at that point that this person was lovely, but had no idea what they were doing," Wilcox recalls. "I knew that's what I wanted to do."
Her path became clear: She would become a speech pathologist. This led her to the University of Iowa, home to the first school of speech pathology in the country and considered the best at the time. "Speech pathology requires very rigorous training, and you are both the diagnostician and the therapist," she explains.
A life-changing Peace Corps experience
Wilcox later joined the Peace Corps — a decision that profoundly shaped her worldview and career. In 1971, she was appointed as the national director of speech pathology in Guatemala, simply because she was the only speech pathologist there.
"We opened some clinics, started a school, and it was a completely life-changing experience," she reflects. One powerful memory involves starting a "Lost Voice" club for patients who had lost their vocal cords through cancer or toxic farm chemical exposure. She taught them to speak using their esophagus. "When I left the country, they came to the airport and were singing to me. That was so moving."
Career growth and unexpected opportunities
Wilcox's bilingual abilities made her a crucial asset.When a new law passed in 1974 requiring all people being assessed for disabilities or services to be evaluated in their primary language, she says, "Well, I was it."
She earned her master's degree at the University of Arizona and her Ph.D. at the University of Southern California, working in hospitals and schools. "For me, speech pathology is the field that formed me intellectually and passionately more than anything else."
Wilcox also served on the San José State University Tower Foundation Board, completing her term in June 2025 — another example of her support of education and the university.
Why San José State University?
Despite not being an alumna, Wilcox chose to direct her philanthropy toward San José State University. This prompted her to endow a professorship — soon to become a faculty chair — in Communicative Disorders and Sciences at the Connie L. Lurie College of Education.
"Even though I didn't attend San José State University, as county superintendent of schools in Santa Clara County, I found that more than half of all the teachers and speech pathologists graduated from SJSU. I realized what an important place the university holds in our K-12 educational system."
Her research into university endowments revealed that many institutions offer endowed professorships to elevate their programs.
“I know that one endowed professorship leads to another,” she says. “And when there's a critical mass, professors want to work there because of the extra funds for research, the extra support that they know is coming in perpetuity."
When San José State was designated as the most transformative university, Wilcox knew she had found her match. "I've worked with literally thousands of teachers and speech pathologists who went to San José State. I just think the university is amazing."
The power of scholarships and support
Wilcox's generosity is informed by personal experience. "In college, I existed on scholarships. Once you have that experience, you know how important they are. I had multiple scholarships — some were for need, and others were for academic success, but I couldn't have gone through college without them."
Looking forward
Wilcox remains excited about advances in her field, particularly how artificial intelligence is helping nonverbal individuals. "AI has done more for the nonverbal than you can imagine. We think about Stephen Hawking and the kind of artificial language system that he used, and we thought it was amazing, but giving a sense of personality just didn't exist. And it's just getting better and better."
She sees tremendous hope for people recovering from cleft palate and laryngectomies. "There's just so much hope as it grows in communication and speech."
A message to future donors
Wilcox emphasizes the importance of identifying one's passions and connecting with the right people. "I would try to identify their passions. Is it transforming lives? Where do they want to make an impact, and then connect them with the best in that department."
"Every experience can be life-changing," she reflects. "And somehow you don't necessarily know it at the time. But the answer should be yes. Get every experience you can."
Like Wilcox, you can shape the future of San José State with a planned gift — one that costs nothing today but builds opportunity for tomorrow.
Reach out to planned.giving@sjsu.edu to learn more.
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