PERSPECTIVES 25th Anniversary - Fall-Winter 2018

54 Nova Southeastern University By Elizabeth Roberts, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Associate Professor Speech-Language Pathology Fort Lauderdale Commemorating Decades of Innovation and Success THE DEPARTMENT OF Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) has a long, successful history that sets it apart from other SLP programs in the country. Among these distinctions are some notable firsts. A major one is the provision of innovative delivery systems. For example, the department was the first SLP program to offer an online delivery system. It was also the first to offer a professional doctorate. Another notable distinction is the size of the student body, with a current enrollment of approxi- mately 750 students in three different degree programs. The department began in 1983 as the brainchild of Jack Mills, Sc.D., Au.D., CCC-SLP. He was a speech-language pathologist and audiologist working with the deaf/hearing-impaired population. He had the foresight to know South Florida would benefit from an SLP master’s degree program, and he worked to make it happen. Mills ultimately became the program dean and served until 1997. The first class consisted of speech clinicians employed in the Miami-Dade County and Broward County schools, so it was determined the first classes would be offered in the eve- ning to accommodate them. This practice prevails today in the master’s degree program, with most classes held in the evenings or on weekends. This plan met the mission of the university at the time: to provide education for adults who work during the day. An SLP clinic was created to offer services to individuals with communication disorders and provide students with clinical experiences necessary to meet degree requirements. Shelley Victor, Ed.D., was the first clinic director. Barbara Packer-Muti, Ed.D., Au.D., CCC-SLP, joined the faculty to teach audiology courses and provide supervision of the clinical experiences in audiology. In 1986, Thelma Albritton, M.S., CCC-SLP, became an associate director. She started a delivery system whereby faculty members traveled to teach at students’ locations throughout Florida. Joseph Gonzalez, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, also joined the faculty to become an associate director, offering additional original thinking that brought great success to the department. In the ensuing years, more consummate professionals followed and made significant contributions. Lanee Friedel, Au.D., CCC-SLP, developed the program for the supervision of students in clinical experiences throughout the country, while Carole Zangari, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, implemented programs for alternative-augmentative communication. Elaine Bloom, M.S., CCC-SLP, implemented the Testing and Training International Program to provide online classes to cohorts of Orthodox Jewish women, and Wren Newman, SLP.D., CCC-SLP, became the clinic director and, ultimately, the department’s chair.