AFA Conference on Professional Education II Update

With over 40 Au.D. programs on the attendee list, and almost 10 professional audiology organizations, the AFA's "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, at the Arizona School of Health Sciences 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 real-world input that will be gathered from attendees with direct patient experience makes this conference unlike any other, and brings the opportunity for practical change to those on the front lines of Au.D. program growth and development.

Au.D. programs will be represented by both program directors and recent graduates. A nationally-renowned professional facilitator will guide the dialogue so representatives can work together to detail needed changes and positive outcomes. The keynote address will be given by Dr. Thomas E. McWilliams, D.O., FACOFP, associate dean of bioclinical education and a clinical professor of emergency medicine/family practice at A.T. Still University's School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona. In addition, a special historical video with archived footage on the Au.D. journey narrated by Dr. David Goldstein, AFA founding chair and professor emeritus of Purdue University, will also presented.

Sponsors to date include ReSound, (Chair's Platinum Circle), Widex (Chair's Gold Circle), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) (Chair's Silver Circle), A.T. Still University's Arizona School of Health Sciences (Hosting Institution) and the Audiology Foundation of America (Convening Sponsor). Additional co-sponsors 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 Salus University's George S. Osborne College of Audiology (formerly PCO).