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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.

This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.

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Division of Public Relations and Marketing Communications
Nova Southeastern University
3301 College Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314-7796

nova.edu/prmc

SharkBytes Archives

Contact

Division of Public Relations and Marketing Communications
Nova Southeastern University
3301 College Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314-7796

communications@nova.edu

Commemorating Decades of Innovation and Success

The Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences Anniversary Highlights Speech–Language Pathology-Fort Lauderdale

SLP students earning traumatic brain injuries in a classroom in the Griffin Building

SLP students earning traumatic brain injuries in a classroom in the Griffin Building

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 approximately 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 evening 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.

You may read more of the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP’s) long, successful history by visiting the 2018 Perspectives Summer/Fall issue on page 54 and 55by visiting healthsciences.nova.edu/studentaffairs/messenger.html.