Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 1, 1993 TAG: 9309010151
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The board voted unanimously to go ahead with plans to offer a doctoral degree in audiology. The program must be approved by the State Council of Higher Education and the General Assembly.
University officials thought hard before deciding to pursue the program, said President Donald Dedmon.
Dedmon said there is a strong need for a doctoral program in audiology, which is not available in Virginia.
Dedmon called the proposal "a very significant step, and it will probably be met with a good deal of questioning. That's a euphemism; it will be opposed."
Audiologists study normal and impaired hearing, identify hearing problems and work to rehabilitate persons with hearing loss.
Part of the course work would take place at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
The doctoral program would require a change in the university's basic mission. Radford is classified as a comprehensive university, emphasizing teaching over research. It does not have the supporting apparatus necessary for most doctoral programs, state officials said.
Anne Pratt of the State Council of Higher Education said she had not heard about Radford's proposal and could not comment. "We look forward to hearing from the institution," she said.
State Sen. Elliot Schewel, D-Lynchburg, said it is up to the council to decide if the program should be approved, and up to the university to come up with a source of funding.
Funding for a new program must come out of the existing appropriation for the school, said Schewel, who is chairman of the state Senate's Education and Health Committee.
Radford's mission has changed several times since its founding as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women in 1919. It was authorized to offer master's degrees in 1964, and began admitting men in 1972. Radford gained university status in 1979.
Its enrollment, meanwhile, has mushroomed from 3,100 students in 1972 to 9,400 this year.
The university now offers a master's degree in audiology through its department of communication sciences and disorders.
But audiologists have been asking for more training to keep up with technological advancements in the field over the last decade or so, said James Nicely, the department's chairman.
"We have state-of-the-art facilities and equipment," Nicely told the board of visitors shortly before it voted to seek approval for the program. "We're the envy of every other program in the commonwealth of Virginia.
He also said admission to the program has become highly competitive - which has contributed to its quality.
Nicely said the program would require at least two additional faculty members with doctorate degrees.
It also would require additional clerical help, more space and money to keep its library current.
Radford officials said the program would not admit students for several years even if approved.
No one was downplaying the size of the task.
"This is a major, major step," Nicely said, "and we realize that."
Frank Butts, head of the audiology and speech pathology department at the Medical College of Virginia, called the proposal "an awfully good marriage" between the two universities.
He said basic lectures would be offered at Radford, followed up by some science courses at MCV and then clinical work at one of the universities, depending on the student's field of study.
He said Radford's program has been growing steadily, and has been strengthened by the hiring of "some really superb faculty."
He also said that Radford is a good setting for the program because of the university's size. Such a program might get lost if located exclusively at MCV, he said, but at Radford it could get "the kind of care and attention it deserves."
Butts said the need for audiologists will increase in the years ahead as the population ages.
by CNB