ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (April 17, 2020) — Augustana College received welcome news after a four-year accreditation process and after an 11-month and $3.5-million construction project on Brodahl Hall.
College professors and students were thrilled to earn accreditation for a new graduate program in speech-language pathology by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
With new classrooms, labs, therapy rooms, conference spaces, offices, and observation rooms to use, the first classes in the master's program will begin this fall. It will be a 24-month program that includes extensive coursework, four semesters of clinical practice in the on-campus center, and two full-time clinical externships.
The first cohort will graduate in 2022. Faculty members anticipate gradual growth and eventually having 20 graduate students each year.
“Because of the aging population, advances in health-care, and other factors, we predict that the demand for speech-language pathologists and audiologists will remain consistently high for the foreseeable future,” said Dr Allison Haskill, professor of communication sciences and disorders.
Dr Haskill noted the much-needed space more than doubled the size of Brodahl Hall.
Augustana’s speech, language, and hearing center is the oldest college clinic in the nation, and it serves as a resource to the entire Quad-Cities area. During a typical semester, the Augustana clinic provides assessment and intervention services for communication disorders to 95 members of the Quad-Cities community.
Dr Kathy Jakielski, professor of communication sciences and disorders, said, “We are suited to expand the clinical and community-based services we provide to the Quad-Cities area. The beneficiaries are numerous, including our clients, students, and faculty.”
To arrange a time to interview Dr Haskill or Dr Jakielski, please contact Kirby Stockwell, 630-201-9080, kirbystockwell@augustana.edu.
Founded in 1860, Augustana College is a selective four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences. Augustana is recognized for the innovative program Augie Choice, which provides each student up to $2,000 to pursue a high-impact learning experience such as study-abroad, an internship, or research with a professor. Current students and alumni include 165 Academic All-Americans, two Nobel laureates, 13 college presidents, and other distinguished leaders. The college enrolls 2,500 students and is located along one of the world’s most important waterways, the Mississippi River, in a community that reflects the diversity of the United States.
