Additional Sponsors, Attendees Join AFA's Conference on Professional Education II

Lafayette, IN - With almost thirty Au.D. programs on the attendee list, and many more expected over the following weeks, the Audiology Foundation of America's (AFA) "Conference on Professional Education II: Positioning Audiology for the 21st Century" is shaping up to be the preeminent Au.D. education conference of the year. The conference will be held October 4-5, 2008, in Mesa, AZ, and is intended as a 20-year review of Au.D. education progress and as a help in determining future goals and improving current models of Au.D. education delivery. The original "Conference on Professional Education" was convened by the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists (now the Academy of Doctors of Audiology) in 1988.

Au.D. programs will be represented by both program directors and recent graduates. Glenn Tecker, a professional facilitator, will guide the dialogue so representatives can work together to detail needed changes and positive outcomes. There will also be representatives in attendance from eight professional audiology organizations, and a keynote address by Dr. Thomas E. McWilliams, D.O., FACOFP, on the change history seen in osteopathy education and its parallels to audiology. Dr. McWilliams is associate dean of bioclinical sciences and a clinical professor of emergency medicine/family practice at A.T. Still University's School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona.

Sponsors of the conference to date include ReSound (Chair's Platinum Circle), Widex (Chair's Gold Circle), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) (Chair's Silver Circle), and A.T. Still University's Arizona School of Health Sciences (Hosting Institution). Additional co-sponsors to date include the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), A.T. Still University's Arizona School of Health Sciences (ASHS), the Educational Audiology Association (EAA), Ball State University, Central Michigan University, the Northeast Ohio Au.D. Consortium, and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry's School of Audiology (PCO). The Audiology Foundation of America is the Convening Sponsor.

For more information about the "Conference on Professional Education II: Positioning Audiology for the 21st Century," as well as an up-to-date list of participating Au.D. programs and attendees, please visit https://audfound.org/.

The AFA is a non-profit foundation whose mission is to empower audiologists to be independent and autonomous practitioners by supporting their educational preparation, professional practice and leadership development.