Alumna Rachael Gates (Doctor of Musical Arts, 2002) specialized in vocal performance while at Ohio State, and also developed a keen interest in vocal health, which included independent study with voice experts at the Wexner Medical Center. Gates, along with Ohio State co-authors L. Arick Forrest, MD, director of the Voice and Swallowing Disorders Clinic, and Kerrie Obert, clinical voice pathologist, has published a book, The Owner’s Manual to the Voice: A Guide for Singers and Other Professional Voice Users (Oxford University Press, 2013). The highly recommended book, available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Oxford websites, has garnered comments like this one from Cristin J. Hubbard, singer and actress from Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera, “Finally! A resource for professional singers with real, scientifically based information about the vocal mechanism and vocal health.”

Gates currently teaches interdisciplinary courses in vocal health at Michigan State University for singers, actors, and speech-language pathologists along with radio and television broadcasters. She said, “I am forever grateful to OSU. It was at OSU that I had the best singing instructor I’ve ever had, Robin Rice, and it was at OSU that I was permitted to pursue a personal interest and pave a road for those with similar interests.”