Interview with Brad A. Stach Ph.D., Nominee for President-Elect of the American Academy of Audiology

AO/Beck: Good Morning Dr. Stach, thanks for your time this morning.

Stach: Hi Doug, nice to be with you.

AO/Beck: You're running for the office of president-elect of the American Academy of Audiology (also known as the academy ). I know the ballots are going to mail out this week from the Academy, and they're due back in early September. Nonetheless, before we get into the Academy issues, let's talk a little about your education and professional history.

Stach: Sure, we can start there.

AO/Beck: I understand that you worked as an audiologist with your master's degree prior to obtaining your Ph.D.? In other words, you didn't go straight through from your bachelor's to your Ph.D.?

Stach: Yes that's correct. My clinical training was at Vanderbilt University. I studied with Earl Harford, Fred Bess, Jay Sanders, Barry Freeman, and a host of talented clinical educators. Immediately after that, I did my externship at the Mayo Clinic, before they had multiple locations - I went to the main facility in Rochester, Minnesota. Then I practiced for two years before going back to school at Baylor College of Medicine, where I studied and worked under Jim Jerger, along with Susan Jerger, Deborah Hayes and another stellar group of audiologists at Baylor.

AO/Beck: Tell me a little about the type of work, the research and the political activities you were involved with while you were at Baylor?

Stach: My very first work assignment at Baylor was on a grant in the research labs, where we studied neuroanatomy of the acoustic reflex arc in primates. My dissertation was on auditory steady state evoked potentials (SSEPs), a much-more fruitful variation of which is currently gaining popularity in the literature and in clinical application. As my doctoral program progressed, I was asked to take over the management of the clinical audiology program at the Neurosensory Center of Houston, which was part of the Methodist Hospital system. In 1986 I graduated with my PhD, and I stayed on with the hospital and joined the faculty of the medical school. I was actually there for 11 years in all. By the time I left in 1992, I was directing the audiology, speech-pathology, and ENG clinical services. Of course another major activity occurring for those of us at Baylor/Methodist in the late 1980s was the formation of the Academy. The first organizational meetings and the Academy's first office were located at our facility, so it was very exciting to be there when the Academy was born, so to speak.

AO/Beck: Then in 1992, where did you go?

Stach: In 1992 I left Baylor and went to Washington DC to develop the division of audiology and hearing research at Georgetown University Medical Center. Roy Sessions M.D. was the Chair of the department, and we were housed within the Department of Otolaryngology. Dr. Sessions was from Baylor, and he was highly accustomed to audiology under the Jerger model, so it was a good fit for both of us. Then in 1994, I went to Stanford to the California Ear Institute. My task was to oversee the merger of the audiology programs of the California Ear Institute and the audiology program at Stanford. The California Ear Institute was a private practice, and we became the Audiology-Otology branch of the Department of Otolaryngology at Stanford. The people and innovation at that facility were exceptional....Lisa Tonokawa, Blair Simmons, Dick Goode, Rodney Perkins, and many other talented and innovative people were there, and it was very exciting,

AO/Beck: And then in 1996 you left California to move north?

Stach: Yes, that's right. I went to the Nova Scotia Speech and Hearing Clinic as the CEO. I thought it would be interesting to learn and work under a more socialized health care system. There were 100 employees at the clinic and the mission was to provide speech and hearing services to the citizenry of Nova Scotia. The Clinic also served as the primary clinical teaching location for the audiology and speech pathology graduate program at Dalhousie University. We had 24 satellites, the majority of which were in hospitals. I learned a lot about health care delivery systems in Nova Scotia. In some respects I went from the ultimate free-market healthcare delivery system in California to the ultimate capitation system in Canada. For the first time in my career, as the CEO in Nova Scotia, I reported directly to a Board of Directors. That was a valuable experience for me and helped solidify my thoughts about the necessary balance between board governance and executive management. Interestingly, it occurred at a time when the Academy was creating its own national office and the relative roles of the board and staff were being defined.

AO/Beck: So you were in Nova Scotia from 1996 to 2000 and then you moved to Saint Louis?

Stach: Yes, that's correct. In 2000, I became the Director of Audiology and Clinical Services for Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) in Saint Louis. I work with another fantastic team at CID, including Don Nielsen, Nancy Tye Murray, Bill Clark, Ann Geers and others. Ira Hirsh even stops by my office occasionally. In addition, we have strong ties with our neighbors at the Washington University Medical Center, including Margo Skinner and Mike Valente. CID has four major divisions: a research department with basic and applied research; an oral school for deaf children; a professional education program, which houses the audiology graduate school, deaf education, and our Ph.D. program; and the clinic. I am the director of clinical services, and I am responsible for the audiology graduate program at Washington University.

AO/Beck: Brad, your professional background is very impressive. Unfortunately, we don't have the time here today to go into the books and articles you've published. So I guess we'd better focus in a little on the upcoming election. How many years have you been on the Academy's Board of Directors as a Member-At-Large?

Stach: This is my third and final year as a member-at-large on the Academy Board.

AO/Beck: Very good. Let me be bold and ask you -- What is it that makes you the ideal candidate for the position you are seeking?

Stach: Ideal might be overstating the case, but I do have a long history with and a deep understanding of the Academy. I was on the original Board of Directors in 1988, and I served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Academy during its formative years. I think my background with the Board, the Academy, and my clinical and administrative background will serve the membership well as we strive to enhance the profession's recognition. I think the Academy is well managed and well positioned as a vehicle for the profession. We need to sustain the Academy's strategic direction, and we need to continue to push forward on all fronts that lead us to independence as a profession. We need recognition; we need direct access; we need autonomy.

AO/Beck: Going back to 1988 -- Did you envision that the AAA would become what it is today?

Stach: No, not really. It would have been rather presumptuous back then to imagine all the growth and success the organization has realized. I guess audiologists just felt that it was time to finally begin controlling their own destiny as a profession. The momentum has been amazing. Frankly, I did not envision this, but I could not be more pleased with where we are and where we're going. Here we are in 2001, and we have great news...the Academy is growing and the profession is rapidly becoming a doctoring profession. Throughout this brief and dynamic history, the themes have remained fairly constant. It really boils down to professional recognition and professional autonomy. If we focus on the profession rather than the organization, and if we stay focused on the strategic directions I just mentioned, we will continue to be successful in realizing those goals.

AO/Beck: Brad, what are your thoughts on the Ph.D. shortage?

Stach: There is a shortage of PhD's in general in most areas of science, and audiology is no exception. Of course we see the shortage primarily with respect to how it impacts our profession, but the shortage is much broader and goes beyond our professional borders. As a profession and as an Academy, we must do all we can to support our research base. Ironically perhaps, I think we will actually be in better shape down the road with regards to PhD education due to the AuD movement. I know that sounds odd, but let me explain. The AuD is designed to create superb entry-level practitioners. The PhD is designed to educate scientists. The old Masters/PhD model, along with the presumed need of PhDs to hold clinical certification, tended to obscure the emphasis of both. Focusing the clinical doctorate and the research doctorate will undoubtedly enhance both. I also would not be the least bit surprised to see an AuD/PhD option emerge at leading institutions in the near future.

AO/Beck: Thanks Brad. I certainly appreciate your time and your thoughts regarding the profession and I appreciate your sharing a little about your professional history too.

Stach: Thank you too Doug. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and I appreciate the opportunity to reach the Audiology Online audience.